


It Could Be You

by bitemyshinyredtender



Category: Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, Thomas the Tank Engine - All Media Types
Genre: Also I think it's worth noting that omegaverse fics tend to heavily imply strict gender roles?, Also trigger warning for abuse, Bad BDSM Etiquette, Especially regarding reproduction and what rights some people have, F/F, F/M, Just a lot of fucked up behavior in general, Like BDSM that's not actually BDSM it's just abuse, M/M, Past Child Abuse, Physical Abuse, Sexual Abuse, So that may be triggering to some of you, Specifically the physical kind, Wait nope there's emotional abuse in here too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-08
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2019-10-24 09:45:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 16
Words: 64,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17702021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitemyshinyredtender/pseuds/bitemyshinyredtender
Summary: TTTE Omegaverse AUEverybody knows only the lucky Omegas live a comfortable life. When Henry is sold to a wealthy Alpha named Spencer, he believes himself to be one of the lucky ones. However, when he discovers his Alpha is worse than he could have ever prepared for, Henry has to rely on the few people he can trust to help him stay positive through the abuse and the heartache.More details on trigger warnings in Chapter 1 notes.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, if you aren’t familiar with how Omegaverse typically works, I suggest doing some research. I don’t want to drag the story down by spending too much time explaining everything. All you really need to know are the basic mechanics and what the different roles are. Knowing that will help a lot.
> 
> Secondly, I do not condone any of the negative shit I write about in this fic. I don’t condone rape, abuse, the idea that someone’s role in society is determined at birth and cannot be changed, etc. I just write some fucked up stuff every once in a while, that’s all. It’s just me over here with my refined tastes, not harming nobody.
> 
> Trigger warning for each chapter will be posted in the notes at the beginning.
> 
> Trigger warnings for this chapter: Noncon

“Sold!”

Henry flinched as the auctioneer's gavel slammed onto the podium. Before he knew what was happening, two women roughly grabbed him by the arms and lead him off the platform and down the stairs, shoving him towards a stocky gentleman with dark, slicked back hair and a cocky smirk. Two even larger bodyguards flanked him, their expressions blank. Henry wondered if they even knew what was going on.

“Congratulations sir, here’s your Omega, take good care of him,” one of the women holding him droned in a monotone voice that told Henry she’d said those exact words countless times before. They did little to comfort him.

Henry was passed from the two women to the two bodyguards, the dark haired man he assumed was now his Alpha watching him with fascination. The expression on his face filled Henry with unease. He could only follow helplessly as he was led to a shiny silver car.

As one of the bodyguards opened the door, the dark haired man glared at him. “Are you serious? Don’t just throw him in there, take the rope off of his wrists first!” He continued to grumble as he walked around to the other side of the car and got it.

The bodyguard sheepishly mumbled an apology and pulled out a knife. He sliced the rope from Henry’s wrists, while the other bodyguard helped Henry into the car.

Once inside, he kept his eyes focused on his lap, afraid to look at the man sitting beside him. He could feel the Alpha watching him, the predatory smell lingering in the air, mixing with Henry’s anxious scent. He knew it was rude to ignore the Alpha- _his_ Alpha, but Henry couldn’t bring himself to lift his eyes. Just the pure Alpha energy radiating from this man rendered Henry unable to even think clearly.

“You’re a shy one,” the man said with a smooth, deep voice. “What’s your name?”

Looking up slowly, Henry was surprised when his eyes met the Alpha’s. They carried a kindness foreign to most Alphas Henry had encountered. He swallowed thickly. “Henry, sir.”

“Henry,” the man repeated, “I like it. My name is Spencer Gresley, and if you haven’t guessed already, I’m going to be your Alpha.”

Unsure how to respond, Henry looked away, his eyes locked on his hands fiddling in his lap.

Spencer’s voice was low and comforting, “I know you’re probably scared, but you really shouldn’t be. I plan to spoil you. You’re going to live a very comfortable life. My Omega deserves nothing but the best, and that’s what you’re going to get.” He smiled when he noticed the worry fade from Henry’s face, “I’m frequently away on business trips, but you’ll have my cousins and another Omega to keep you company while I’m gone. I haven’t bought any materials for your nest yet, I wanted you to pick them out yourself. Once we find you some bodyguards I’ll instruct them to take you shopping as soon as possible. When is your next heat due?”

Henry’s face flushed, “Uh, not for another two weeks or so, I think…”

Lust flashed briefly in Spencer’s eyes. “Good,” he said, “that should be plenty of time.”

Henry didn’t like the way Spencer was suddenly looking at him. He knew Omegas were expected to mate with their Alphas during heat, but suddenly the idea became much more real to him, and he didn’t like it at all. Two weeks had never seemed like such a short time

“Aside from the usual rules Omegas have, I have one request of you.” Spencer’s expression became grim. “One of my cousin’s hasn’t claimed an Omega yet. Stay away from him.”

Henry’s stomach somersaulted, “Is he dangerous?”

Spencer burst into laughter, “Dangerous? Hardly! He and I just aren’t on the best terms, and it wouldn’t be beneath him to snatch you from me when he gets the chance. Not that I’d blame him, one look at you and he’ll be overcome with jealousy. Lucky you, you’ve got a big, strong Alpha to protect you, but I suggest you keep your distance from him when I’m not around.”

Henry nodded solemnly.

Spencer continued, his tone much lighter, “His brother and I keep encouraging him to just pick an omega already, but he’s stubborn about it. I suspect he’s been planning to take my Omega ever since I pushed him down the stairs that one time when we were kids, why else would he go this long without claiming one of his own?” Spencer went on, mumbling, "It's just not right, an Alpha going so long without an Omega, honestly..."

Now Henry was curious, “Does he even want an Omega?”

“Who knows?” Spencer scoffed, “I think he does. He’s just too picky, if you ask me. I don’t blame him though, perhaps he’s waiting to meet an Omega as cute as you,” He gave Henry a playful wink.

Henry giggled. _'At least he’s being nice to me_ ,' he thought. _'Maybe this won’t be so bad…'_

-

When they arrived to what Henry guessed was Spencer’s house, he was overwhelmed by the size of it. _He really wasn’t kidding when he said I’d be spoiled…_

Accompanied by the same bodyguards as before, Henry was ushered inside by Spencer. Once inside, they were greeted by a servant and two others. One of them was older, but shared the same hair color as Spencer and looked like he could be one of his cousins. The other one was, if Henry had to guess, the cousin’s Omega. The Omega practically vibrated, his dark eyes wide with excitement. He happily bounced up to Henry, holding out his hand excitedly. “It’s so nice to finally have another Omega in the house! I’m Thomas, what’s your name?”

“Henry,” he smiled, shaking Thomas’s hand nervously.

Spencer gestured to the other man, “This is my cousin Scot, Thomas’ Alpha.”

Henry reached out and shook his hand. He felt himself instinctively shying away from Scot; the amount of dominating Alpha energy emanating from him was almost enough to knock Henry over. _Must run in the family…_ Henry thought.

Spencer then gestured to the servant standing obediently by the door, “And this is Mavis. She’s the head housemaid, and the one to call if you need anything. She’ll be showing you around the place shortly.”

“Um,” Mavis interjected, “pardon me, but I still have a bit of laundry to finish, so it may take an hour or two before I’m ready to-”

Thomas beamed, “I’ll do it, I’ll show you around!” Suddenly, he sheepishly turned to look at Scot. His voice became quiet, “May I show him around, sir?”

Scot chuckled, “Yes, you can show him around.”

Thomas’ smile returned to his face.

Spencer looked around, annoyed. “And we’re just missing Gordon…” Spencer glanced at Scot and raised a brow suspiciously, “Where is he?”

“He’s in the shower. He got back from his run a few minutes ago.”

Spencer scoffed, “And miss me bringing home my Omega? Rude.”

Scot laughed, “Well, maybe he’ll remember his manners and introduce himself later. For now, I have some things I need to discuss with you. Perhaps Thomas could take Henry on that tour of the grounds...” He glanced over at Thomas with an amused expression.

Thomas, who Henry noticed had zoned out once the conversation wasn’t about him anymore, snapped back to attention. “Of course,” he grinned, turning to Henry, “follow me!”

Henry yelped in surprise as Thomas dragged him away by the wrist. He had a feeling this would be happening a lot.

-

“So that’s the downstairs part, not much for us down here besides our Alpha’s offices and the library. The kitchen and dining room is down the hall on the left. Dinner for us is usually around seven or seven-thirty, after the Alphas are finished-”

“Wait,” Henry cut in, “we don’t eat together?”

Thomas shook his head. “Dinner is usually when the Alphas all talk business, and having Omegas present could be too distracting. I usually eat with the servants, but honestly I prefer it that way. They’re more entertaining than having to listen to all that stuffy business chatter for an hour.”

Henry nodded in understanding as Thomas continued rambling, leading Henry up a large set of stairs.

“So up here we have the bedrooms and bathrooms, which are pretty nice, I think. We’ll be sharing a bathroom, along with Gordon’s Omega, whenever he decides to get one, and-” Suddenly he stopped, whirling around and grabbing Henry’s hands in his own. His face split into a grin, “I gotta show you your bedroom and heat room!”

“They’re two separate rooms?”

“Well, the heat room has to lock from the inside, remember?” Thomas said, as if the fact were obvious.

Henry didn’t like what was being implied. “So… our bedrooms can’t lock from the inside?”

Thomas looked at Henry like he had just spoken in another language. “Of course not. Alphas have a right to enter as they please. Didn’t you learn any of this?”

Henry hadn’t. He shook his head.

“Well, you don’t have to worry. I don’t know about Spencer, but Scot is really nice about respecting my privacy. I don’t think you’ll ever need to lock your bedroom door.”

Henry knew he should feel relieved by Thomas’ words, but a sense of worry still gnawed at him. Trying to lighten the mood, Henry gave Thomas a nervous smile, “Why don’t you show me those rooms now?”

Thomas’ face lit up, “Yeah, they’re right down the hall…”

-

Once Thomas had showed him around the house, Mavis called them into the kitchen for dinner. Thomas excitedly rambled on about how Henry will just love the rest of the staff, easing Henry’s anxiety at the thought of meeting more new people. When they walked in, Henry recognized Mavis, as well as the two bodyguards from earlier. Looking at them now, they looked almost identical, even down to their facial stubble. They both gave Henry a polite wave.

Mavis beamed when she saw Thomas and Henry come in. She motioned for the others to come over and greet them. “Guys, this is the new Omega I was telling you about!”

To Henry’s surprise, another pair of twins came over, the two of them eyeing Henry curiously. “Yous a wee big for an Omega, isn’t he Dougie?” One of the twins said, in a heavy Scottish accent.

The other nodded, “Aye, that he is. Never seen one so tall before… how tall are yeh?”

Henry blushed, “Six feet exactly.”

The twins chuckled. “My my, a gentle giant if there ever was one,” the first twin teased.

Mavis gave the twins a warning glare, “Guys, don’t be pricks.” She turned to Henry, “These two assholes are Donald and Douglas, they work in the kitchen.” She pointed to the bodyguards standing silently in the corner, watching everything unfold in amusement. “Arry and Bert are the bodyguards. Any time an Omega leaves the house without their Alpha, these two will be sent to accompany, so get used to them.”

“Well well well,” a voice behind Henry made him jump. He turned around and saw a woman in heavy makeup leaning against the door frame, a cigarette hanging from her lips. “Mavis, you could have told me the fresh meat was here.”

Mavis rolled her eyes, “You could have come to dinner on time and _please_ don’t call him that.”

The woman snickered, “But he is, at least to an Alpha. That’s all you’ll ever be to them. That’s all anyone who isn’t an Alpha will be to an Alpha, a piece of meat existing for their pleasure and amusement.” She blew a puff of smoke and turned to Henry, “Get used to it honey. Your Alpha may treat you like royalty, but they don’t do it out of the kindness of their hearts. They expect something in return.”

Henry’s blood ran cold at the woman’s words. What if she was right? What if Spencer was only spoiling him with the expectation that Henry would repay him? What would Spencer expect from him?

Mavis glared at the woman and huffed in annoyance before turning back to Henry, “That ray of sunshine is Daisy, and she’s just salty because she had a nasty encounter with _one Alpha_ -”

Daisy gave Mavis a sharp glare, “Drop it, missy.”

Thomas cleared his throat in an attempt to cut the tension. “So, what’s for dinner?”

-

That night, Henry did a little more exploring around his bedroom. It was bigger than he thought it would be, but not overwhelmingly spacious. His wardrobe had some clothes of varying sizes (“Someone will take you shopping for new clothes tomorrow,” Spencer had said), and there was a selection of different types of sheets and pillows in the linen closet. Henry was grateful for the selection, and making his bed gave him something to do for the evening. He happily hummed to himself as he spread the clean white sheets on the mattress, topping them with fluffy green blankets.

Midnight had come and gone by the time Henry put on a pair of pajamas provided for him and settled into bed. He snuggled down under the covers, enjoying the feeling of soft cotton against his skin. Replaying the day’s events in his mind, he thought about how everything had gone a lot smoother than he had expected. Everything he heard growing up about Omegas that get sold to Alphas made him believe that his fate was to end up in the hands of some ruthless brute who only used him for sex. So far, he hadn’t gotten that impression from Spencer at all. Scot seemed just as kind, and Thomas seemed to be perfectly happy living here, if his enthusiastic tour was anything to go by.

A sharp knock on the door startled Henry out of his thoughts. He opened his mouth to say ‘come in’ but the door opened before he could make a sound.

Spencer stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. “Ready for bed, I see?” He leaned casually against the wall, eyeing Henry up and down.

Henry sat up and nodded, “To be honest, I’ve been ready for bed since noon.”

Spencer chuckled, crossing the room to sit on the edge of the bed, “Well, before you get too comfy, I have something I need to do.”

Something in Spencer’s expression made Henry instinctively shrink away.

“Oh, come now, no need to be so scared. I promise to be good to you,” Spencer put an arm around Henry, the other caressing Henry’s cheek, forcing Henry to face him, “...as long as you’re good to me.” Spencer pulled him forward into a gentle kiss.

Henry wanted nothing more than to pull away and crawl under the covers. He knew this was going to happen sooner or later, but he didn’t expect it to happen on the first night. His body was stiff as Spencer kissed him. He could feel one of Spencer’s hands move from his face down to his hip, squeezing lightly.

Henry was relieved when Spencer pulled away, but the relief was short-lived when he saw the predatory look in Spencer’s eyes.

“I think it’s time,” Spencer said, his voice a low growl, “to break you in.”

Before he could protest, Spencer had yanked the covers back and pinned him to the mattress. With Spencer’s body weight holding him down, Henry could barely move. His hands pushed feebly against Spencer’s chest, to no avail. He laid helpless as Spencer made quick work of undressing them both.

The sudden feeling of being completely naked in front of a stranger who was looking at him a little too excitedly made Henry feel a sudden surge of anxiety. The reality of what was about to happen made his body shake, his instincts conflicting. Part of him said to submit, but the other part said to _fight_.

“Please, s-stop,” Henry said weakly, trying to worm his body away from Spencer’s. “I-I’m not ready-”

Spencer chuckled, gripping Henry’s hips tightly and yanking him back down beneath him. “Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you. Wouldn’t want to ruin you on the first night, now would we?” The hungry, predatory grin never left his face. Henry wanted to throw up.

“Please, can’t we just wait-”

“Why are you resisting this, Henry?” Spencer cooed sickeningly. He slipped two fingers into Henry’s slick entrance, causing Henry to whimper. “Your job is to lay there and take it,” Spencer sneered, “Now, be a good little Omega and-”

Henry cut him off with a cry of pain as the sting of Spencer’s erection breaching his entrance shot through his entire body. He clutched Spencer’s back in a desperate attempt for some sort of comfort, though he knew he wouldn’t be receiving any from Spencer. Henry’s breaths were sharp as he fought the pain away.

Spencer slid in to the base in one fluid motion, aided by Henry’s natural lubricant. “There we go,” Spencer panted, his hips starting to buck, “that’s a good boy, nice and tight…”

On the one hand, Henry’s pain had started to edd away, and he was beginning to enjoy the feeling of having something inside of him, stretching him so good. On the other hand, Henry quickly realized that Spencer was not someone he wanted to do this with. He couldn’t figure out why, but the fact that it was Spencer, a stranger he hadn’t even known for a full twenty-four hours yet, doing such intimate things with him, made Henry feel incredibly uncomfortable. He turned his head to the side, choosing to stare at the wall as Spencer used his body for his own pleasure.

What was once an intense urge inside Henry to fight and run away soon turned into apathy. His eyes never left the wall, intensely focusing on the intricate pattern of the wallpaper to distract himself from Spencer’s thrusting and grabbing. Henry only let out an occasional groan of discomfort when Spencer was particularly rough with him.

Spencer noticed.

Henry was grateful, and not surprised, that Spencer didn’t last long. _’What a skeeze…’_ Henry thought. He fought the urge to roll his eyes as Spencer came with a low grunt of satisfaction. Henry felt himself being filled with Spencer’s seed, wincing as Spencer’s knot swell up, keeping their bodies connected. Henry groaned internally when he remembered that knots typically take at least a half hour to go down. _’Oh well’_ , he thought, _’at least I can just lay here and-’_.

As if on cue, Spencer grabbed Henry’s hair and forced his head back towards him. As Henry gasped, Spencer planted a firm kiss on his mouth, taking advantage of the fact that it was open to shove his tongue inside. Henry forced himself not to gag. When Spencer pulled away, he looked at Henry smugly. “You were pretty good,” he purred, “but I’ll have to coach you a little bit. We’ll work on it more throughout the week.”

 _’This is going to be a long week…’_ Henry thought.

-

Once Spencer finally left (taking his sweet time to do so, Henry noticed with agitation), Henry hurried into the bathroom and took a very thorough shower. He then made his way downstairs to the kitchen to get a snack. He knew one of the unspoken rules of Omega etiquette is that an Omega is supposed to stay in their room once their Alpha has gone to bed for the night, but Henry wasn’t feeling particularly obedient after the way Spencer had treated him.

Rummaging through the cabinets, Henry was grateful that Mavis had shown him where everything was in the kitchen. He grabbed an apple and turned to head back upstairs when he suddenly collided with someone. The strong Alpha scent that greeted Henry made his heart stop. He took a step back, lowering his head and cowering apologetically. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you-”

“You’re the new Omega, aren’t you?”

The smooth voice that met Henry’s ears made a shiver run down his spine. Henry nodded. He looked up, and immediately his stomach was in knots. The Alpha standing in front of him was tall, well built, and had a mane of silver hair. His dark eyes stared at Henry quizzically, but they were friendly and warm. Something about this Alpha, his presence and his scent, filled Henry with both a sense of awe and a sense of comfort.

The Alpha smiled, sending Henry’s stomach into even tighter knots. “I’m sorry I didn’t get to meet you earlier, I had no idea you’d even arrived until my brother finally told me about an hour ago, but by then you were already in bed. Or so I thought…” He glanced at the apple in Henry’s hand before giving him a playful smirk.

Henry felt his face turning red. “I know I’m not supposed to be out of my room, I’m sorry-”

“You don’t have to apologize, I couldn’t care less.”

“Oh.”

The Alpha’s smile faded, “I wouldn’t let Spencer catch you, though. He can be a bit… domineering, even to me and my brother.” He walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water as he continued, “I’m not trying to scare you, but I wouldn’t be so careless yet. You might want to wait a week or two before you start doing things like sneaking out of your room at night. Make him think he has nothing to worry about so he’ll let his guard down.”

Despite the Alpha’s reassuring words, Henry was still afraid. “Oh… thank you, I’ll keep that in mind. I should head back now…”

As he turned to leave, the Alpha called out to him. “Wait,” he said, “I don’t know your name.”

“Henry,” he said shyly.

The Alpha smiled, holding out his hand. “Gordon.”

The moment their hands touched, Henry felt a spark in his chest. A warm sensation spread throughout his body. He quickly retracted his hand, as if the shock had been physically delivered through through their touch. Without another word, he scurried quietly back up to his room.

Flopping down onto his bed, Henry set the apple on his nightstand, his hunger faded after the events that just took place. He laid in silent thought, wondering what he should make of the interaction that took place in the kitchen. He been completely unprepared to encounter an Alpha, and was taken completely off guard, which hadn’t helped his nerves about being in the presence of one so… unusual. Henry was used to feeling anxiety being around Alphas, especially ones he’s never met before. But he’d never felt anything like what he did just now. The word ‘wonderstruck’ was one of the first to come to mind. Gordon was practically the dictionary definition of Alpha; powerful body, deep voice, strong scent...

 _’This family has some very strong Alpha genetics…'_ Henry thought.

Henry found his mind wandering to what Spencer told him in the car, when he said to stay away from Gordon. At least, Henry assumed Spencer had been referring to Gordon. He seemed to be the only Alpha in the house without an Omega, and just from the looks of him Henry couldn’t blame Spencer for telling him to stay away. Gordon was every Alpha’s dream… and every Omega’s.

Henry felt a sudden bite of envy. Why couldn’t he have been Gordon’s Omega? While he was thinking about it, why couldn’t he have been Scot’s? Both of them were much more friendly than Spencer and, judging by what Thomas had told him, Scot took very good care of his Omega. Of all the Alphas in the family, Henry had to get stuck with Spencer. He just had to get stuck with the one who felt the need to “coach” him, to come into his room unannounced, to tell him that his job was to “lay there and take it.” Henry groaned in frustration, grabbing the apple and biting into it angrily.

He had a sinking feeling things weren’t going to get any better anytime soon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warnings for this chapter: some heavy non-con/dub-con elements, discussion that can be twisted to be a metaphor for some really misogynistic shit.
> 
> Another note...
> 
> If you're reading this and you're under 18 (or whatever the legal age is in your country)...
> 
> Maybe... don't?
> 
> I know AO3 makes it ridiculously easy for minors to access explicit works, but I'm not really comfortable with anyone not of legal age reading this stuff. If you're a minor, I strongly urge you to go somewhere else. No one can make you, and I'm not saying you have to, it's just... it's literally illegal for you to even be reading this.
> 
> And if I get one comment saying "lol im a minor lol" I'm going to have a stroke. If you're going to ignore my advice then don't fuckin' tell me, for god's sake. Ignorance is bliss.

“How about this one?” Thomas asked Henry excitedly, holding up a denim shirt that made Henry wrinkle his nose in disgust. “Hmm,” Thomas pondered, putting the shirt back on the rack, “well then Mr. Picky, what do you like?”

“Well,” Henry mused, “I like the color green, and-”

“Here,” Mavis cut in and handed Henry an armful of clothes, “I’ve got some basic stuff for you, like button up shirts and dress pants. Go with Thomas and try these on.”

Henry nodded and headed over to the dressing rooms, with Thomas following behind him.

-

“So,” Thomas’ voice came muffled through the door, “how was your night?”

Henry furrowed his brow, “What do you mean?”

“I mean how was your night?” Thomas giggled, “You know, how did everything go? With Spencer?” Thomas lowered his voice suggestively.

Henry didn’t particularly want to remember the events of the previous night. Part of him wanted to tell Thomas it wasn’t any of his business, but he knew Thomas had good intentions. Plus, he didn’t want to risk pushing Thomas away. Henry didn’t exactly have a large selection of people to make friends with, so he needed to take care of the few friendships he had. “It was… not good.”

“Really? What happened?”

“Exactly what you think happened,” Henry scoffed, buttoning up his shirt, “that’s the problem.”

“You mean…” Thomas said quietly, “you didn’t like it?”

Henry shook his head solemnly before he remembered Thomas couldn’t see him. “No, I didn’t like it.” He looked at himself in the mirror, nodding in approval and removing the shirt to add to the ‘yes’ pile. “I mean, did you like it the first time you did it?”

Thomas was silent for a moment. “Yeah, Scot was nice and gentle with me and made sure I was enjoying myself. I take it Spencer didn’t do that?”

“Nope.”

“Oh… I’m sorry.”

Henry picked up one of the piles of clothes and opened the dressing room door, motioning for Thomas to pick up the other pile. “Does that feeling… ever go away?” he asked timidly.

“What feeling?” Thomas asked, grunting as he hoisted the clothes into his arms and followed after Henry.

“The feeling that, yeah, it feels nice, but you still feel sort of… gross. Like, you don’t like who you’re doing it with, so it kinda ruins the experience for you…?”

A look of concern crossed Thomas’ face. He pursed his lips thoughtfully, “I can’t say I’ve felt like that. Scot never made me feel gross.”

Henry sighed, looking for Mavis amongst the racks of clothes. “I guess I’m just weird,” he mumbled.

“If it makes you feel better, things get better after you’re marked.” Thomas playfully nudged Henry on the arm, “The connection you two have after being marked makes everything different. Things’ll get better, I promise.”

Henry wasn’t convinced.

The two eventually found Mavis, who was chatting with Arry and Bert while looking through a rack of winter coats. Her eyes lit up when she saw the two Omegas coming towards her. “All right, which one is the ‘nope’ pile?”

Henry gestured over to Thomas, whose grin was barely visible over the mountain of clothes in his arms.

Mavis chuckled in amusement, “All right, you two can go ahead and wait in the car. Arry, you go with them. Bert, stay here and put the nope pile back on the racks while I pay for everything. Or rather, while Spencer pays for everything,” she smirked, holding up a credit card and twirling it between her fingers.

As Henry and Thomas turned to leave, a familiar face a couple feet away caught Henry by surprise. “Oh my god.”

The person in question turned, the delicate features of his face quickly morphing in shock and happiness. “Henry?”

“Edward!”

The ran towards each other, embracing in a tight hug. They each started asking questions in a flurry of excitement.

“Where have you been?”

“I thought I’d never see you again!”

“It’s been months!”

“Where are the others?”

“What happened to you?”

“I can’t believe it’s you!”

Henry stepped back, taking a deep breath. “Okay, you first, what happened to you? Where did you end up?”

“Well, after… everything happened, I ended up moving into a different house a few miles away. It’s in a predominately Beta neighborhood, so it’s one of the safest places to live. Plus, it helps that I’m living with an Alpha.”

“Are they _your_ Alpha?” Henry asked excitedly.

Edward’s face flushed, “Well…”

“Who’s this?” Thomas’ voice suddenly asked from behind him, making Henry jump in surprise.

“Oh, um,” he gestured over to Edward, “this is one of the Betas I used to live with, before… before Spencer bought me.”

Edward’s face fell, “You were sold?”

“Auctioned, actually-”

“Jesus, that’s worse!” Edward exclaimed as he started inspecting Henry’s face and arms, “I don’t see any bruises, that’s good. Does your Alpha treat you well?”

Henry hesitated, “Why don’t I tell you everything another time? We can get together and catch up, maybe you can come to my place sometime and meet everyone

“Sounds good to me,” Edward smiled, pulling a pen out his pocket and writing his number on Henry’s arm. “My cell phone’s been broken for a week now and I don’t have the money to replace it yet, so this is the number for the house phone.”

“Woah, a landline, I thought those were obsolete,” Henry said sarcastically.

Edward rolled his eyes, “Anyway, call me sometime. James might pick up-”

“Is he the Alpha?”

“Yes, he’s the Alpha.”

Henry grinned, “If he answers then nothing can stop me from grilling him with questions to make him prove he’s worthy of being in your company.”

“Oh, he’d enjoy that, getting asked questions about himself is his favorite pastime.” Edward’s tone became serious, “Just call me whenever you get the chance. I’ve missed you. I thought you were-... well, I didn’t think I’d ever get to see you again.”

Henry reached out and took Edward’s hands in his own, “Hey, don’t think like that. We’re seeing each other now, everything is okay. We’ll catch up soon, all right?”

Edward smiled and nodded.

As Henry turned to leave, a bundle of emotions hit him all at once. As ecstatic as he was to see his best friend after months of not knowing what happened to him, seeing Edward reminded Henry of the time in his life he longed to go back to. He had been so carefree and safe, and he had taken that for granted. As much as Henry wanted to be positive about the direction his life had taken, it was getting increasingly difficult. Life seemed to keep throwing whatever it could at him to keep him down. First Spencer, now Edward.

Henry didn’t want to think about how things could get any worse.

-

That night, as Henry expected, there was a knock at his door. He didn’t even bother saying ‘come in.’ Sure enough, not even a beat after knocking did Spencer enter the room, shutting the door behind him. He saw Henry sitting cross-legged on the bed and chuckled, “Waiting for me, are you? You learn fast.”

Henry forced himself not to roll his eyes. He watched with dread as Spencer walked over and stood in front of him. In the position they were in now, Henry was eye-level with Spencer’s stomach, and he had to tilt his head to look Spencer in the eye. He didn’t like the feeling of having someone towering over him like this, especially Spencer.

“Listen,” Spencer sighed, “I want to apologize for last night. Seeing you, smelling you, knowing you were mine-” His voice turned into a low growl. He cleared his throat, regaining his composure, “...it sort of sent my Alpha instincts into overdrive. I didn’t realize how much I had hurt you until I thought about it a few hours later. I sort of assumed all Omegas liked being dominated by Alphas. I mean, that _is_ what I’ve been taught since I was young, like all Alphas are taught… Anyhow,” He reached down and took Henry’s hand in his own, giving it a gentle kiss. “can you forgive me?”

Henry was stunned speechless. He hadn’t expected to hear an apology come from Spencer.

However, something in Henry’s gut told him not to trust Spencer’s words.

“I’ll take your silence as a no,” Spencer chuckled, releasing Henry’s hand from his own, “I understand. Let me make it up to you tonight. I want to try something, if that’s okay,” Spencer said, laying his hand on Henry’s shoulder and stroking it tenderly with his thumb. “Have you ever given a blowjob?”

Henry’s heart stopped. He shook his head.

Spencer smiled, and Henry almost thought it was out of genuine kindness. “I didn’t think so,” Spencer said, unzipping his pants. Seeing the panic in Henry’s eyes, he moved his hand from Henry’s shoulder to his hair, stroking it soothingly. “Don’t worry,” he said softly, “I promise we’ll go slow, okay? I want you to want this as much as I do.”

Spencer reached down and pulled his dick out, giving it a few lazy strokes. His other hand continued playing with Henry’s hair. “We’ll go slow. Why don’t you start by giving it a few licks?”

Henry nervously stuck out his tongue and ran it along the underside of Spencer’s cock. The deep groan that rumbled from Spencer’s chest above him made Henry’s stomach leap, but to his surprise, it wasn’t in a bad way. The sound was… encouraging? He repeated the action, starting from the base and licking a wet stripe all the way to the tip. Another low groan from Spencer. Henry winced when he felt Spencer grabbed his hair with a tight fist, but was surprised when he loosened his grip not even a second later. _’He’s being… gentle? Maybe he really does feel bad for last night,’_ Henry thought to himself, his tongue trailing along Spencer’s dick once again.

With a satisfied moan, Spencer held Henry’s head still with the hand in his hair. “Open your mouth,” he said breathlessly. When Henry hesitated, Spencer continued, “I promise I’ll be gentle, just open your mouth darling.”

Hearing Spencer address him as ‘darling’ made Henry’s heart skip a beat. He obeyed, opening his mouth, struggling not to gasp in shock when he felt Spencer’s erection slip in, the head resting heavy on his tongue. Henry was grateful Spencer was keeping his word on taking things slow tonight. Even with only half of Spencer’s cock in his mouth, Henry felt his jaw begin to ache already.

“All right,” Spencer panted, “now, I want you to gently suck it. Not too hard now, we’re still starting slow.”

Not feeling as shy as before, Henry obliged and started sucking. He brought up a hand and wrapped it around the base to hold it steady, a move that Spencer appreciated greatly, Henry assumed based on the rumbling groan he got in response.

“Careful with your teeth, that’s it… that’s a good boy,” Spencer purred, “God, you’re so good, such a good little cocksucker, so _good_ \- fuck, that’s it…”

As much as Henry hated to admit it, he was beginning to enjoy himself. Spencer’s praise lit a fire within him, urging him to do anything it would take to get more praise from his Alpha. Something nagged at him, washing away his inhibitions and making him crave Spencer’s attention. _Be a good Omega,_ it said, _you were made for this._

With a surge of confidence, Henry took more of Spencer in his mouth with each bob of his head. Soon, he felt his lips reach the base, the plump softness of Spencer’s lower abdomen preventing him from going any further. Henry felt a swell of pride bloom in his chest, knowing he could take Spencer completely in his mouth without much of a struggle. Sure, it didn’t feel _great_ , and he did gag a couple times, but he still managed to take every inch.

Judging by the strangled moan that came from above him, Henry guessed Spencer was just as impressed as he was. “Sh-shit, _shit,_ ah…hah, ahn, _ah!_ ” Spencer cried out as he came, thrusting himself into Henry’s mouth until he drained himself of seed.

Henry swallowed every last drop eagerly, not because he enjoyed it, but just to see the look on his Alpha’s face as he did so. Spencer looked down at him with a look of adoration, but Henry felt a pang of dread when he saw a familiar predatory flash in Spencer’s eyes as well.

Sure enough, no sooner had Henry pulled back did Spencer move them so Henry was laying on his back, with Spencer above him. “Please,” Spencer begged, pressing his face into the side of Henry’s neck and peppering him with hungry kisses, “I need to fuck you, _now_ -”

“You said we’d go slow!” Henry protested, wiggling his body away from Spencer as much as he could. He yelped when he felt his pajama pants being tugged down, his underwear following soon after. “Stop,” he whimpered, pushing against Spencer’s chest in an attempt to get the Alpha off of him. “Please, don’t do this!”

Suddenly, Henry felt a sharp sting on his cheek, and it took him a moment to register that Spencer had just slapped him. Henry stared at him with wide eyes, frightened by the furious glare Spencer was giving him. 

“I tried going slow, okay? We did it your way, and now we’re doing it my way.”

Henry’s chest ached in betrayal. He knew he shouldn’t have trusted Spencer. He hated himself for letting his guard down, as well as for getting enjoyment out of pleasing Spencer. However, he hated himself the most for the persistent craving for Spencer’s approval and pleasure that should have faded the moment the Alpha struck him, but was somehow still gnawing at him even now. Henry could cry from the sheer frustration and shame he felt, but he had a feeling the sick fuck might just get off to that sight. He refused to give Spencer the satisfaction.

Henry stayed as silent as he could when Spencer quickly shoved his cock into his slick entrance, only letting out a muffled whine. “See?” Spencer snickered, “You’re so wet for me, you want this just as much as I do.”

_’Betrayed by my own body,’_ Henry thought bitterly. “No I don’t, that’s just a natural reaction to-” Henry let out a sharp scream as Spencer gave a hard thrust, his body not yet used to the sudden intrusion.

Spencer grunted as he started increasing his pace rapidly. “You know,” he said as he roughly grabbed Henry’s wrists and pinned them above his head, “you can drop the ‘shy, coy little Omega’ act. I’ve seen what you’re made of.”

“Oh yeah?” Henry snarled, bouncing with each thrust of Spencer’s hips, “And what exactly am I made of?”

Spencer grinned, “Fire.”

“What?” Henry scoffed, then cried out in surprise when Spencer leaned back, pulling Henry with him. Now stradling Spencer, Henry braced himself with his hands on Spencer’s chest.

Spencer laughed, a bit too lightheartedly compared to his tone not even a minute ago. “You’re precious… and proud. I admire that. Pride runs in my family after all, you’ll fit right in here.” He moaned, gripping Henry’s hips as they moved.

“Yeah right,” Henry scoffed, “I’ll never fit in with anyone like you. You’re a selfish, arrogant, narcissistic, lying bastard who payed money to own me because you couldn’t find an Omega who’d let you mate with them _without_ money as an incentive.”

“Rude words from such a sweet little Omega.”

“I’m just being honest for my Alpha,“ Henry said in a mockingly innocent tone. “My point is, I don’t care what you’ve been taught about Omegas, I’m not going to spread my legs for you just because you’re an Alpha.” He moaned as he felt Spencer’s dick sliding in and out of him with delicious ease.

“Henry,” Spencer cooed, “you can try and fight this, you can even beg me not to fuck you, but your words will never express what you really want, what your Omega instincts really want.”

“Get bent.”

“Am I wrong though, Henry?” Spencer gave a wicked grin, “I haven’t moved a muscle since you’ve been on top.”

The sudden realization that he had been moving his own body, practically fucking himself on Spencer’s dick all while having an entire conversation with him hit Henry like a freight train. When had he started moving? More importantly, why couldn’t he stop? Why had he completely contradicted his words with his actions, completely unaware of what he was even doing?

A thought emerged in Henry’s mind that made his stomach coil in anger. _’My instincts told me to.’_

As if he could read his mind, Spencer started thrusting up to meet Henry’s hips as they came down. The two moaned as their orgasms hit at once, each of them rolling their hips as they rode out their orgasms. Soon their bodies came to a standstill, the last few waves of pleasure ebbing away. Exhausted, Henry collapsed forward into Spencer’s arms. To his surprise, Spencer was gentle as he turned the two of them on their sides, Henry burying his face in Spencer’s soft chest as he felt the Alpha’s arms wrap around him. He didn’t really want Spencer to sleep with him, but he wasn’t about to refuse some post-orgasm cuddling.

Before Henry could think back on what had just happened, he felt his body start to shut down as sleep overcame him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any minors still with me...
> 
> ...I respect your defiance. Godspeed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings for this chapter: None. Don't get used to this.

In the morning, as Spencer got dressed, he told Henry he would be gone most of the day on a business trip, along with Scot and Thomas. He apologized for the short notice, and gave Henry permission to roam the house as he pleased.

“I’m sure Mavis and the twins would enjoy your company,” Spencer said as he buttoned up his shirt, “I suggest you pop in and see what they’re going to be up to today. There’s a library downstairs across from my office, as well as a garden out back. Plenty to keep you entertained while I’m away.”

Henry perked up immediately when he heard Spencer mention a garden. “You have a garden? Thomas never showed me a garden.”

“Well, it used to be a garden,” Spencer noted. “It hasn’t been taken care of in years. Most of the plants are either overgrown or dead. It’s still a nice place to sit and unwind though, sort of has that eerie, abandoned vibe.”

Henry’s brow furrowed in thought, “Couldn’t you have hired someone to take care of it?”

Spencer stopped in the middle of tying his tie, seemingly lost in thought for a moment. “That, uh,” he said hesitantly, “it wasn’t my decision to make. I’ve been pushing to have it clean up, but Scot and Gordon keep saying no.”

“Why?”

With a heavy sigh, Spencer ran his hands through his hair. “Look,” he said quietly, “I’ll give you the full story another time, but the gist is that the garden was special to Scot and Gordon’s parents. When they died, they refused to even touch the garden out of respect, not wanting to change the state it was in when their parents were still alive. Once it started to, you know, go to shit, they still couldn’t bring themselves to touch it. Probably felt sentimental about the fact that their mother had been the last one to take care of the plants.” 

“Oh…” Henry suddenly felt guilty for asking. “I’m sorry, that’s… that’s awful.”

Spencer cleared his throat, straightening his posture and checking his phone, “Well, what’s done is done, no sense in dwelling on it. You’re welcome to go and take a look at it, if you’d like. Don’t expect much.” And without another word, he left.

Henry sat in his bed, now alone with his thoughts. When Spencer had mentioned a garden, Henry became excited at the idea of being able to pick up one of his favorite hobbies he hadn’t had a chance to do in months. However, now that he knew the backstory of the garden, he doubted things would go well for him if he so much as watered a single plant. _’No harm in just looking,’_ he mused, _’it’ll give me something to do today, at least.’_

-

By the time Henry made it down to the garden, it was a little past noon. The intense sunlight baked the dry, browning plants around him. Henry couldn’t even identify most of the flowers and bushes, they were in such sad shape. Henry couldn’t bear to see what he guessed was once a very lovely garden reduced to something so… barren. The only green he could see were the large shrubs that acted as walls surrounding the garden. He couldn’t see past them, but he knew all that the only thing beyond them was an expanse of grass and hills. The closest neighbor was over a mile away. Something about knowing he was essentially isolated unsettled Henry.

As he followed the path (what little he could see through the mess of dead leaves and dried up vines crisscrossing the stone), he came across a wooden bench, a bit weathered but still in decent shape. He sat down, glancing out across the sea of shrivelled foliage. From where he sat, he had a clear view of the back of the house. The large window looking into the library let in the harsh midday sun, and Henry could see Mavis dusting the bookshelves. Examining the other windows, none of them were as large as the library window, and most of the had the curtain shut as well. Henry tried his best to remember the layout of the large house. Should he even call it a house? Mansion, that was more like it.

The crinkling of leaves to his right startled Henry, causing him to scramble to his feet. He looked over and saw Gordon. He looked as surprised to see Henry as Henry was to see him. “Oh, you don’t have to get up,” he said, holding up his hands apologetically, “I didn’t mean to scare you. Mind if I sit down?”

Slowly, not looking away from Gordon, Henry sat back down. “I mean, this is your garden, you certainly don’t need my permission to sit here.”

Gordon chuckled, sitting down beside Henry, “Maybe you didn’t want my company.”

Henry simply shrugged.

The two were silent for a moment before an idea popped into Henry’s head. “Uh,” he said hesitantly, his heart thudding in his chest when Gordon looked over at him, “I don’t want to overstep my boundaries, but… Spencer told me a bit about this garden. It’s history, I mean, and I was wondering- and I understand if you say no- but I’d be happy to fix it up a little for you. Not to brag, but I did my fair share of gardening at my old house, and-”

“I don’t see why not.”

Henry blinked. “Really?”

“Really,” Gordon repeated, looking out over the expanse of unkempt “greenery” with a look of faraway longing. “It’s about time we got this place presentable again.”

“...Are you sure?”

Gordon laughed, ‘Yes, I’m sure.”

“What about your brother? Is he-?”

“Would you like me to tell you no? Is that what this is?” Gordon looked at Henry in amusement, “I’ve given you my permission, Spencer couldn’t care less, and I’m sure my brother would like to see this garden looking alive again. What’s the problem?”

Not wanting to unbottle any of Gordon’s emotions, Henry was reluctant to speak. “It’s just… Spencer told me you guys refused to touch anything in this garden for so long, I didn’t expect you to agree so quickly.”

“Then why did you ask?”

“...I don’t know.” Henry really didn’t know. The idea had come to him so suddenly, he wasn’t sure what possessed him to even dare bring up the topic.

“Regardless,” Gordon said, gesturing behind them, “there’s some tools in the shed for you to get started. They may qualify as antiques now, but I’m sure they still work perfectly fine. I’d offer to help, but…”

Henry nodded, “I understand, it’s too much for you. Emotionally, I mean."

“What? Not at all,” Gordon smirked, “I’m just awful at gardening.”

Henry stifled a laugh. He could feel his face flush red, and he hoped if Gordon noticed he assumed it was from the heat. “I’ll probably wait until tomorrow to get started, it’s a bit warm today.”

“Tell me about it,” Gordon agreed. The two sat in silence again, until Gordon spoke up, “Can I ask you something?”

Henry’s heart pounded, “Go ahead.”

“Where are you from?”

Of all the questions Gordon could have asked, Henry was not prepared for that one. “Uh,” he said nervously, “I grew up in New Jersey over in the United States-”

Gordon laughed, “I guessed from your accent, but I meant more recently. What was your life like before you were brought here?”

Henry was beginning to grow suspicious. His expression hardened, “Why do you want to know?”

Gordon held up his hands defensively, “I’m just curious.”

Henry was silent for a moment before he let out an exasperated huff. “I used to live in a big house, with some other Omegas. A bunch of very kind Betas took us all in. I lived in that house for a few years, until one night a group of Alphas broke in. They must have heard there were a group of Omegas and Betas living together without any Alphas. They came in when everybody was asleep. I don’t know what happened to the others, but if I had to guess… Judging by the screaming I heard…” Henry paused, “I actually ran into one of the Betas yesterday, so I know at least he made it out okay, but I didn’t ask him about the others yet. I don’t think I want to.”

A sad look crossed Gordon’s face. “You don’t have to tell me all of this, if you don’t want to…”

“No,” Henry said sternly, “I don’t want to tell you, to be quite honest, but this is my reality.” He didn’t know why he felt obligated to tell Gordon about this aspect of his past. Something about the Alpha’s presence was comforting to Henry, and made him feel like he could share anything with him.

Gordon nodded solemnly, “I understand. I know what it’s like to lose a family, too.”

Henry felt a pang in his heart. He hadn’t meant for the conversation to turn so deep. He didn’t speak another word. Neither of them did, instead choosing to sit in silence, each looking over the garden in thought.

A few moments passed before Henry spoke again. “Wait a minute… shouldn’t you be with Scot and Spencer?”

Gordon shook his head, “The business they’re dealing with today doesn’t concern me. The majority of their business doesn’t concern me.”

“Oh?” Henry asked curiously.

“I haven’t told Scot yet, but I have absolutely no interest in the family business. I’m supposed to be his partner in a few years, but, as much as I loathe saying this, Spencer is a better fit. He’s the one who gives a shit about all of that nonsense anyway, I think he’d gladly take the position.”

“I think he would too, even if it was just out of spite.”

Gordon laughed, “I’m sure Spencer has spoken highly of me,” he said sarcastically. “Your impression of me must be abysmal.”

“Well, you’re right about Spencer being ever so fond of you, but I could tell everything he said was a lie when I met you. Today’s confirmed it.”

Gordon looked at Henry quizzically, “What do you mean?”

“Well,” Henry began, looking away as he felt his face flush, “he told me to stay away from you, that you were stubborn and would do something petty just to spite him.”

“Hmm,” Gordon hummed thoughtfully, “well, he’s not wrong.”

Henry giggled, “He also said you didn’t have an Omega. Why is that?”

Gordon’s smile faded. He shrugged, “I just don’t think I’ve found the right one yet. I’m waiting until I feel a real connection with someone. I’m not going to go out and claim the first attractive Omega I find, unlike some people.”

Henry’s heart thumped. _'Is he… is he talking about Spencer? Is he talking about me? Does he think I’m attractive?'_ He shooed those thoughts away in shame.

Gordon continued, “I don’t want to follow in my family’s footsteps. Spencer did it, Scot did it, even my parents did it. They mated with the first person who caught their eye. To Scot’s credit, he swears he felt an instant connection with Thomas, but I don’t believe him. I think he liked the fact that Thomas followed him like a dumb puppy, and used that as a reason to claim him. He’s younger than I am, for fuck’s sake…

“My parents weren’t much better. Mom was a model, absolutely beautiful. She could’ve had anyone she wanted, but my dad won her over with his money and kept her shut up in this place as a nothing more than a breeder he’d dress up and take to parties to show off. I never heard mom complain, but I don’t think she enjoyed that life at all. It’s why this garden exists. She begged my dad to let her get her hands dirty, so she could have an escape from her routine of birthing and raising children. As you can see, he gave in, but in exchange she had to give him as many more children as he wanted. I wouldn't have been born if this garden hadn't existed. I know I should be grateful, but I can't, knowing what my mother went through just to have this. My father knew what she wanted and used it as leverage to get his way.

“And Spencer…” Gordon hesitated, glancing over at Henry shyly, “Well, no offense, but Spencer is exactly like my dad. He’s always wanted to find an Omega to parade around like a trophy. I’ll bet he took one look at you and saw how perfect you’d be for his vision of what his Omega should be.”

Henry laughed nervously, “Why in the world would I be offended by that statement?”

Gordon looked into Henry’s eyes sadly, “Because you’re so much more than that.”

Henry stared back, processing Gordon’s words. He could feel his heart beating faster as Gordon continued.

“I don’t think any Omega deserves to be seen as some kind of subordinate, mindless, baby incubator that’s an Alpha’s do own and do whatever they want. Just because Omegas can have children doesn’t mean that’s all they’re good for. I just… I can’t imagine treating your life partner like that, you know? As an Alpha, I hate it when other Alphas do that. Omegas deserve better.”

 _’Oh. He didn’t mean me specifically.’_ The thought both relieved and bothered Henry.

“Sorry, I guess I’ve made things a little awkward,” Gordon chuckled. He stood up, starting to walk away, when he felt Henry’s hand grab his arm to stop him. Gordon’s blood ran cold at Henry’s touch.

“Wait,” Henry pleaded, “you didn’t make things awkward, I’m just… speechless. No one’s spoken so highly about Omegas like that before, especially not an Alpha.”

“Well, we can’t all be mindless brutes,” Gordon scoffed.

“No, I-I didn’t mean-”

“It’s okay,” Gordon said softly, “I know what you mean.”

Still holding Gordon’s arm, Henry looked into his eyes. “You’re different,” he said, almost in a whisper. “You’re not like any of the Alphas I’ve met before.”

Gordon snorted. “And how many have you met?” 

“Enough.”

Gordon wanted to retort, but he couldn’t think of anything to say. How could this Omega he’d only met the day before possibly think so highly of him? Gordon felt a surge of warmth spread through his chest, unable to look away from Henry’s sweet eyes.

Henry watched as Gordon’s eyes burned with something Henry couldn’t quite pinpoint… but it was something intense. Henry finally removed his hand from Gordon’s arm. He opened his mouth to speak, but a roll of thunder cut him off. He looked up, surprised to see that thick clouds had rolled in overhead sometime during their conversation.

“I guess that’s our cue to get inside,” Gordon said, starting to walk towards the door. He glanced back at Henry, “You coming?”

“Yeah, sorry, just thinking…” Henry stammered, getting up and following Gordon.

Once they were both inside, Gordon turned to Henry. “I was planning on making myself a drink, would you like to join me?”

Henry hesitated, “Spencer did tell me to stay away from you. If someone in the kitchen sees us together…”

“They won’t snitch.”

Henry gave Gordon a worried look.

“Look,” Gordon said quietly, “I’ll be honest with you, you’re the only person in this house that has any respect for Spencer. The people who work here only treat him with minimal respect because they’re paid to. They could watch us graffiti his bedroom door and they wouldn’t utter a word to anyone. Besides, they don’t know you’ve been ordered to stay away from me.”

Henry grinned, “Bold of you to assume I have any respect for him.”

Gordon smirked, heading toward the kitchen, “You learn fast.”

As Henry followed Gordon, realization struck him, “Wait a minute, why did Thomas go with Scot and Spencer if they’re going somewhere on business? Don’t Omegas usually stay away when the Alphas are doing business things?”

Gordon’s eyes darted away in embarrassment, “I believe his, uh, heat is due today.”

A blush crept up Henry’s face. “Oh,” he said quietly.

“I’m sure Scot’s thrilled about that,” Gordon said sarcastically, “He hates it when his focus is taken away from important work. I learned that quickly as a kid.”

“I’m guessing there’s a story behind that statement?” Henry smirked.

“Perhaps there is. You ever had a margarita before?” Gordon asked, pulling a bottle of margarita mix from a cabinet in the corner.

Henry’s eyes lit up as he leaned against the island that stood in the middle of the kitchen, “Are you kidding? Once I graduated from cheap beer my senior year of college that was all I ever had!”

Gordon laughed, “So you graduated from cheap beer to cheap tequila…”

“Look, I was getting tired of chugging Busch Lite in a fraternity house’s basement, I took what I could get.”

“Well well,” a voice Henry recognized chimed in. Turning towards the door, Henry smiled when he saw Daisy. “Who knew this timid Omega knew how to party,” she teased.

Henry’s face reddened in embarrassment. “I used to,” he said shyly, “but that was at least three years ago.”

Gordon’s brow quirked, “Wait, how old are you?”

“Twenty-four.”

“Wow,” Gordon said in surprise, “you look younger.”

“And you are…?”

“Twenty-five.”

Henry was shocked. “You look older.”

Gordon smiled, looking away. Henry grinned when he saw Gordon’s cheeks were dusted pink.

“If either of you ask how old I am,” Daisy said, finally pulling out a sponge from the cabinet, “you’re getting a nice slap to the cheek.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Gordon said, not looking up from the lime he was slicing.

Daisy stood up, shutting the cabinet with her foot. As she turned to leave, she looked over to Henry and gave him a wink.

Henry was startled by the gesture, unsure how to respond. What was she implying? His brow furrowed. He glanced over at Gordon, then back to Daisy, who simply smirked. Henry’s face paled. He furiously shook his head, but Daisy had already walked away. Turning around, Henry was relieved that Gordon hadn’t noticed the exchange.

Henry cleared his throat awkwardly. “So, you said that perhaps there was a story…?”

Gordon chuckled as he poured the concoction into a cocktail shaker, “It’s not much of a story, really. Having a brother who’s twelve years older than you just comes with its share of difficulties, one of which is once you’re old enough to play with him, he’s grown too old to play with you.”

Henry nearly choked, “Excuse me, what? Scot is _how old?"_

“Thirty-seven.”

“Oh my god…” marveled Henry, “Your family has a problem with not looking the correct age.”

Gordon laughed loudly, walking over to the island with two glasses in hand. Sliding one over to Henry, Gordon stood across from him, leaning against the counter as well. “What can I say? Gresleys have fantastic genes.”

“Most Gresleys, anyway…” Henry mumbled, taking a sip of his drink.

Gordon snorted, “Oh, is this turning into a ‘Roast Spencer’ session? Because I _really_ hope it is. I’m always down for one of those.”

Henry looked away sheepishly, “I really shouldn’t…”

Gordon took a swig of his drink, setting his glass down with an audible _clink_ , “I promise you I’m the best person to bitch about Spencer to. Or anyone, really. I’ll likely agree with everything you say, you’re in the company of someone who generally hates people.”

Henry remained silent, toying with the rim of his glass.

Gordon’s tone lightened, “You don’t have to say anything mean, you know. Anything you want to talk about, might as well do it now. Before the alcohol kicks in.”

Sighing heavily, Henry took another drink. “There is something that’s been bothering me…”

“Go for it.”

“Why hasn’t Spencer marked me?”

Gordon had wondered the same thing himself, but wasn’t exactly planning to ask Spencer about it. “I’m going to be honest, I have no idea. Sometimes when an Alpha chooses to purchase an Omega they wait a while before marking them in case they decide they want a different one, so maybe that’s what he’s doing. He’s waiting to see if he’s satisfied with you, or if he wants to swap you out for another Omega.”

“Well, that doesn’t make me feel like an object in the slightest,” Henry huffed sarcastically before taking another drink.

Gordon chuckled, then became serious again. “Listen, Spencer can be…” he mulled over his word choice for a moment, “He can be a massive prick.”

Henry giggled nervously, afraid to agree, but not about to argue against it.

Gordon continued, “No, really, he’s one of those Alphas who puts on this act of being this tough brute, and he can get a little carried away sometimes. If he ever goes too far, don’t be afraid to let me know. Scot as well.”

Henry looked away, smiling shyly, the sight making Gordon’s heart thump faster.

Gordon continued, “I’m serious, if he does anything to you, let one of us know. We’ll take care of him.”

“Why are you being so nice to me?” Henry asked, still looking down at his nearly empty glass.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I’m not your Omega and yet you’re offering me protection as if I mean something to you. Why do you care? What happens between an Alpha and their Omega is their business, right?”

Gordon shook his head dismissively, “To an extent, I understand, but I don’t agree with that at all. Too many Alphas use that as an excuse or a coverup for abusing their Omegas. I hate it.”

Henry lifted his head, looking at Gordon with a mix of adoration and gratitude. “You say a lot of surprising things, you know?”

“It needs to be said more.”

“Yeah,” Henry said quietly, “it really does.”

Gordon said nothing, giving Henry a gentle smile. His chest fluttered when Henry smiled back.

In that moment, something sparked inside of Henry. Everything that happened between he and Gordon over the past day and a half sped through his mind like a bullet, replaying almost in a loop. His heart felt like it would burst. With a jolt he was suddenly aware how close they were. If Henry leaned in just slightly, they could-

“Henry?” A new voice cut in.

With a startled yelp, Henry whipped around and saw Mavis standing in the doorway to the kitchen.

Mavis’ eyes widened and she stifled a giggle, “Oh, sorry to startle you. I have a message for you from Spencer. He says he’s going to be delayed getting back, he won’t be home until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. You’re instructed to, and I quote, ‘continue your training tonight as if I’m there to coach you.’”

Henry felt the color drain from his face. _’Oh god, why…’_ “Is… is that all?”

Mavis nodded.

“Oh, okay then… uh, thank you,” Henry stammered. He watched as she left, not wanting to look back at Gordon. “I’m sorry you had to hear that,” he said softly, “I should go. Thanks for the drink.” Before Gordon had the chance to say anything, Henry was already out the door.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings for this chapter: Graphic depictions of sexual abuse/sexual violence
> 
> Edit: For anyone who read this before my edit, I put the trigger warnings for _next_ chapter on accident. This has since been fixed. Sorry!
> 
> That being said, the next chapter deals with a short but intense description of childhood sexual abuse. Might as well warn y'all now, lol.

Henry successfully managed to fight off all thoughts of Gordon for the rest of the night. Feeling much too exhausted after the day’s events, he ignored Spencer’s instructions to do… whatever Spencer wanted him to do, and went straight to bed. Not that he would have obeyed anyway.

When he stirred awake the next morning, Henry was surprised to find the clock on the wall read a quarter past eleven, nearly three hours later than Henry was usually awake. With a start, he leapt out of bed and ran over to the wardrobe. He paused, scanning the selection of clothes. Though he still didn’t exactly feel warm and fuzzy about Spencer, Henry still felt guilty over what had happened the previous night. He tried telling himself it was nothing serious, but the feeling wouldn’t go away. He decided to put a little extra effort into his appearance today, if only to make himself feel better. Impressing Spencer would simply be a bonus.

Henry slipped on a pair of nice pants and a vintage green sweater Thomas had enthusiastically selected (Henry had to explain to him why “You’ll look just like Bill Cosby!” was _not_ a compliment), brushing his hair into smooth waves.

Despite the late start, the day was already already going great. He grabbed a quick bite to eat in the kitchen and had a chat with Donald and Douglas, which he struggled to follow with their thick accents and Scottish slang littered about their sentences, but Henry enjoyed their company nonetheless. Lingering thoughts about the previous day’s events would pop into Henry’s mind every now and then, but he found it getting easier to ignore them as the day went on. He instead focused on how he couldn’t wait to get started in the garden.

Unfortunately, when he was finally ready to head outside, it was pouring down rain. With an annoyed huff, he decided to explore the library instead.

After curling up in an armchair and sifting through countless books for nearly two hours, disappointed to find that none of them really piqued his interest, Henry heard footsteps approaching. He looked up and saw Daisy, who smiled at him. “Your lonely times are over,” she smirked, “Spencer is back, and he requests your presence in his office. Would you like me to show you where that is?”

Henry nodded shyly.

As Daisy led him to Spencer’s office doors, Henry was surprised when he found himself genuinely excited to have Spencer back. He thought happily that maybe this meant things were going to be better between he and the Alpha. If these business trips were a regular thing, and Henry got to have some time away from Spencer every once in a while, things could work out nicely. That was a routine Henry would be perfectly okay with.

Daisy gave the doors a short knock. A muffled ‘enter,’ was heard, and Daisy pulled open one of the heavy doors, ushering Henry inside. “Henry’s here, as you requested, sir,” she said, closing the doors behind Henry. He looked around, taking in his surroundings. Various artwork hung on the walls, including a large painting of Spencer. Henry had to admit, it was a very flattering portrait. He wondered how much Spencer paid that artist to make it look like that. A long, leather couch sat in the middle of the room, in front of a large fireplace. Across from the couch and fireplace sat Spencer’s desk, as well as Spencer himself, busily filling out some paperwork. Henry cleared his throat, causing Spencer to look up in surprise, as if Daisy hadn’t just announced Henry’s presence moment ago.

Spencer’s face lit up when he saw Henry. “There’s my beautiful Omega,” he said, motioning over to the couch. “Come in, sit down, I’ve got something for you.”

 _’Please don’t be your dick...’_ Henry groaned internally. He slowly walked over and sat on the edge of the couch, folding his hands in his lap politely.

Spencer sat down beside him, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small flat square. “I know it’s not much,” he said with a chuckle, “but you seemed so excited about the garden yesterday, I thought you might need a little something to get started.”

Henry took the small packet from Spencer’s hand, inspecting it. To his delight, he saw it was labelled ‘red Begonia seeds.’ “Oh wow,” he said, “they’re beautiful, thank you! You really didn’t have to get these, you know.”

“I told you, I’m going to spoil you,” Spencer chuckled, cupping Henry’s jawline in his hand and stroking his cheek tenderly with his thumb. “I couldn’t resist getting you a little something. I missed you, I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

Henry could feel his face turning red, and he turned away out of shyness. Hearing such romantic words, even from Spencer, made a warm, happy feeling bloom in his chest.

“How could I not think about you, with the state Thomas was in…”

_’Oh… oh boy.’_

Spencer continued, his voice lowering, “I’ve been in close proximity to an Omega in heat for almost twenty-four hours. I had to lie in my bed at night, knowing that my cousin and his Omega were fucking like animals in the next room. I could practically smell it through the fucking walls. Do you know what that does to an Alpha?”

Henry didn’t know, but he could guess. He gasped as Spencer pushed Henry so he was lying on his back. “It makes them feral,” Spencer growled, crawling on top of him, “it drives them absolutely _wild_. If you thought I was a beast before, you’re in for a rough time.” With his hands feeling up Henry’s body, Spencer leaned in and connected their lips in a fiery kiss. “Fuck, I missed you. Did you miss me?” Spencer asked, his low, husky voice sending shivers down Henry’s spine.

Henry nodded, biting his lip to keep from making any sound.

“What was that?” Spencer teased as he nipped at Henry’s neck.

“I missed you,” Henry moaned, pleading with whatever deity would listen that nobody else could hear them.

Spencer smirked, “I’ll bet you did.” He nudged at Henry to spread his legs, which Henry did eagerly. Bringing their hips together, Spencer chuckled lowly when Henry gave a quiet whine of pleasure.

To his own surprise, Henry didn’t object to any of what was happening. Spencer was being unusually gentle, but that hadn’t stopped Henry from feeling nothing but disgust for him previously. Maybe he was just getting used to doing these things with Spencer, or maybe it had to do with everything that had happened with Gordon-

No. No, he was absolutely _not_ going to think about him now. No sir, no way. Thinking about him now would be absolutely _devious._ Henry refused to think about Gordon, and how close they had been to ending up in a situation that may have resembled what was currently happening now… the feeling of lips pressing against his own… hands running across his body, touching him in spots that made his body tingle in excitement…

Henry’s heart sank in sudden realization. _’Oh no…’_

Just then, a knock on the door startled both of them. Spencer looked up with a growl, “What is it? I’m busy!”

“Scot wishes to speak with you, sir,” Mavis’ muffled voice came through the door.

Henry only realized he had been clutching onto Spencer out of fear when the Alpha moved to get up, grumbling as he did so. “Sorry to cut this so short, but I do need to keep my priorities straight,” Spencer said apologetically. He gripped Henry’s chin between his thumb and forefinger, “We’ll definitely be continuing this tonight. I promise.”

“Of course,” Henry said quietly, as if Spencer would know what he had just been thinking moments ago if he spoke too loud. He sat up and readjusted his sweater, running his hands through his surely mussed hair. He watched Spencer as he left, shutting the door behind him. With a groan, Henry slumped against the back of the couch. _’Why am I doing this? Why does he keep showing up in my mind?!’_

Defeated, Henry got up and sulked out of Spencer’s office.

-

_Ring, ring._

_Ring, ring._

_‘Hello?’_

“Hi, I’m calling for Edward Stewart? This is Henry.”

 _’Well, I’ll be damned,’_ the voice on the line snickered, _’you’re one of the Omegas Edward’s been frantic about all this time, aren’t you?’_

Henry giggled, “And you’re the James that Edward spoke so highly about, aren’t you?”

_’That’s me. I’ll go hunt Edward down for you, gimme a sec.’_

Henry waited. He heard James’ voice calling Edward’s name, followed by a muffled response. The two voices conversed briefly, before Henry heard an excited “What?!” and the sound of footsteps hurrying down a set of stairs. _’About time you called,’_ Edward’s cheery voice suddenly said, _’what kept you?’_

Henry twirled the phone cord around his finger, “Oh, just some Omega stuff, you know how it is.”

_’Not really, I don’t.’_

“Lucky.”

_’Don’t get all sad on me, now. I thought your days of crying over being an Omega were gone?’_

“Anyways,” Henry said, his cheeks turning red at the memories, “I was hoping you could come to the house sometime soon? I’m dying to show you around, this place is breathtaking, I just know you’ll love it!”

_’I can’t wait to see it, what’s the address?’_

“I… hadn’t even thought to find that out until now. I’ll have to get back to you on that,” Henry laughed awkwardly.

_’Text it to me, I finally got a new cell phone.’_

Henry’s smile faded, “I can’t. I didn’t exactly get to take any of my belongings with me when I was taken…”

 _’Oh,_ Edward’s said softly. _’sorry… Wait, how are you calling me?’_

“You’re not the only one with access to a landline.”

 _’Right,’_ Edward giggled. _’Goodness, what year is it again?’_

Henry laughed, “Tell me about it… Oh well, I’m sure I’ll get a cell phone soon,” Henry said reassuringly, “I can always ask Spencer, he’ll probably be more than happy to get me one.”

Edward hummed in agreement. _’Let me know when you do. In the meantime, call me back when you get the address, I’d love to visit you soon.’_

“Definitely. See you later!”

-

Remembering what Spencer had told him earlier about continuing what they started, Henry was sitting cross-legged on his bed and waiting for Spencer not a minute past ten. The fact that he wasn’t completely dreading the thought of what was going to happen tonight was reassuring to Henry. He hoped this wasn’t a temporary feeling, he wanted his relationship with Spencer to be a happy one. The thought of Spencer deciding not to claim him and sending him to be sold to someone else, someone who could turn out to be worse… Henry tried not to think about it.

After a little while of waiting, Henry heard the familiar knock, followed immediately by the sound of the doorknob turning. Spencer greeted him with a playful smile, which Henry found himself happily returning. “Well well,” Spencer chuckled, “looks like someone’s in a good mood tonight. That makes two of us.”

When Spencer shut the door, Henry noticed he had a black tote bag with him. “What’s that?” Henry asked, gesturing to the bag.

Spencer walked over and sat on the end of the bed, “I’m glad you asked. I know exactly what I want to do to you tonight,” he said, his voice dripping with arousal. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a pair of objects and held them out so Henry could see them. “Check out the toys I brought for you.”

Henry took one look at the objects in Spencer’s hands and felt the color drain from his face. “Is that… rope?”

“Indeed, and this,” Spencer held up what looked like a bundle of leather strips with a handle at the end, “is called a flogger. I’ve always wanted to try this.”

Horrified, Henry inched his body away from Spencer, and the objects in his hands. He looked at Spencer in disbelief, “There’s no way I’m letting you use those things on me.”

Spencer chuckled darkly, “I don’t remember giving you a say in the matter.”

Turning away, Henry crossed his arms in defiance. “Well I think I do get a say, and I say absolutely not.”

“Henry-”

“ _No._ ”

After a brief pause, Henry gasped when Spencer suddenly leaned forward and grabbed him by the hair, forcing Henry to look at him. Eyes narrowed and lips pressed in a tight line, Spencer spoke in a low voice that made Henry’s blood run cold. “You haven’t figured it out, have you? You’re mine. _Mine_. You do what I say, when I say. When I tell you to spread your legs, you say ‘How far?’ And when I say we’re going to try something, I expect nothing less than your enthusiastic compliance. Do I make myself clear?”

Henry nodded, hoping Spencer wouldn’t notice he was on the verge of tears.

In one quick movement, Spencer yanked Henry’s hands up, tying them to the headboard. He grinned when he saw Henry squirm uncomfortably. “Good,” he sneered, “let it hurt. Maybe it’ll teach you not to give me any shit when I give you an order.” Spencer wrapped the rope around Henry’s wrists and pulled it tight. He hummed in satisfaction when Henry gave a pained whimper, quickly undressing them both.

Before he could process what was happening, Henry felt Spencer’s erection breach his entrance. Feeling thankful that his body was getting used to the feeling of having something inside it, he managed to stay silent as Spencer pushed all the way in with one swift thrust. However, his relief was short lived as Spencer began pounding into him at a brutal pace. Henry screamed, his body felt like it was on fire, and every fiber of his being was begging Henry to fight against it. Instinctively, he tried to maneuver his body away from Spencer. His actions earned him a harsh slap to the face. Henry yelped, half of his face immediately overcome with intense pain.

“Stop struggling,” Spencer snarled, “or I’ll do much worse to you than that!”

With a strangled sob, Henry turned to stare at the wall. As he fought to distract himself from thinking about what was happening, he found himself thinking about Gordon. This time, however, he didn’t push the thoughts away. He let them fester and grow in his mind, _’Gordon wouldn’t treat me like this,’_ he thought, _’Gordon would be kind, and gentle, and he’d never do anything to hurt me.’_

Spencer flipped Henry so he was face down, pulling his hips up so Henry was on his knees. He quickly resumed his brutal pace.

_’Gordon wouldn’t do this.’_

The sound of the whip coming down made Henry tense, and he cried out as pain seared across his back.

_’Gordon wouldn’t…’_

Another _thwack_ , more unbearable pain.

_’Gordon…’_

-

When Henry came to, he was lying on his side. His arms were untied, and when he looked down at them, he was met with the sight of spots of brown and purple wrapped around his wrists. Then the sharp ache on his back hit him all at once. Wincing, he sucked in a breath, willing the pain to subside. In addition to the pain, Henry could feel something wet and sticky coating the skin of his back. The fact that he couldn’t tell if it was blood or semen made him want to vomit. He was afraid to move, yet he wanted nothing more than to take the longest shower he’d ever taken in his life.

To Henry’s relief, he couldn’t sense Spencer in the room. Reaching one arm behind him, he felt nothing but empty bed, breathing a sigh of relief.

Henry felt a pang of loneliness in his chest when he realized he wanted nothing more than to have someone hold him and cuddle him, to soothe his pain. As Henry’s Alpha, Spencer was supposed to be the one to do that. Instead, Spencer was the one making him feel like this. Henry had never felt so ashamed, so pathetic, so...

Broken.

With a pained groan, Henry finally sat up, determined to take a shower to wash away as much as he could. He knew it would take more than intense scrubbing to feel completely clean, but he figured he should start somewhere.

-

Once he finished his very thorough shower, Henry got dressed, wincing as the shirt fabric brushed against the wounds on his back. As he left his room and headed down the hall, Henry’s heart stopped when he saw Gordon walking the other way, reading as he walked. Henry kept his head down as he passed Gordon, unable to bring himself to even give him a polite greeting. He hoped Gordon would be too engaged in his book to notice him, but just when he thought he was in the clear, he saw Gordon stop out of the corner of his eye.

“Henry, what in the world happened to you?”

The genuine concern in Gordon’s voice made Henry want to burst into tears. He held his composure, turning around slowly to face Gordon. “I’m fine, really-”

“No you’re not, you’ve got a giant mark on your face, just above your cheek. And your wrists…” Gordon trailed off as he stepped closer to inspect the bruises. “What happened?”

Henry didn’t answer.

Gordon’s expression turned cold. “Spencer did this, didn’t he?” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Henry still didn’t answer.

Without another word, Gordon took Henry gently by the arm and led him downstairs. As the two came closer to Spencer’s office, Henry began to panic. “Gordon, what are you-?”

“If he thinks he can do this to you he’s got another thing coming,” Gordon growled.

Without so much as a knock, Gordon swung open the door to Spencer’s office, dragging Henry in behind him and shutting the door with a loud _bang._ “Spencer!” he shouted, making a beeline towards Spencer’s desk.

Spencer looked up in surprise, his brow furrowing when he saw the two standing in front of him. “And what makes you think you can just barge in here-”

Gordon pulled Henry so he stood in front of him, where Spencer could see him clearly. “What makes you think you can do this?” He pointed to the large bruise on Henry’s face. Holding up Henry’s wrists, he continued, “Do you seriously think this is okay?”

Spencer said nothing, staring challengingly at Gordon.

Henry’s whole body was shaking in fear. He appreciated what Gordon was doing, but the terror he felt being so close to an angry Spencer overrode his gratefulness.

Unfazed, Spencer scoffed, going back to writing on some forms. “What are you going to do, tattle to your big brother?” he said nonchalantly.

“As a matter of fact, I am. You have no right to treat another human being like a goddamn punching bag. I know you seem to have this delusion that Omegas are property, and that you can do whatever you want to them, but my brother and I don’t play that way. In this house, we don’t tolerate anyone being treated like this,” he motioned over to Henry, who stood silently with his heart pounding. “He doesn’t deserve this-”

“I think you’ll find,” Spencer said sharply, still not looking up, “that what happens between me and my Omega is none of your business.”

Taking a deep breath, Gordon ran his hands through his hair angrily. He took a step forward and leaned against Spencer’s desk, propping himself by the hands. “Listen up, asshole,” Gordon hissed through his teeth, “because I’m only going to say this once. I don’t know who you think you are, but you have no right to treat another human being however you fucking please. I know you think you can manipulate and take advantage of people and just get away with it, but I’m putting my foot down. You’re not going to get away with abusing someone to this degree. So, I suggest you get your head out of your ass and learn some fucking respect before I beat it into you. Maybe I’ll do to you everything you did to Henry. I doubt you’d like that.”

Henry watched in stunned silence as Spencer slowly put down his pen and stood, his eyes level with Gordon’s. Neither Alpha blinked. “Henry,” Spencer said sternly, “leave.”

Henry blinked. “Uh,” he said softly, “where should I-?”

“Are you retarded?! For God’s sake, just leave!”

“Don’t _fucking_ talk to him like that,” Gordon shouted.

Ignoring Gordon, Spencer turned to Henry with his face twisted in rage, “ _Why are you still here?!_ ”

Frantically scrambling to the door, Henry heard Spencer and Gordon continue shouting as he left, but he was too frightened to pay attention to what they were saying. He shut the door behind him, leaning against the wall as he attempted to catch his breath and calm down. Muffled shouting could be heard through the door as Henry sunk down into a ball, burying his face in his knees and crying silently.

-

Henry lost track of how much time had gone by since either Alpha had lowered their voice. Remembering what Spencer had once said about he and Gordon not being on good terms, Henry figured it was safe to assume that whatever was going on in there went beyond Henry. They’d been arguing for far too long.

Soon, the shouting died down, until Henry couldn’t hear anything at all. The lack of sound made Henry more uneasy than the shouting. He leaned against the wall, the pain in his face throbbing dully. He studied the pattern in the wallpaper for what seemed like hours, wondering what was going on in Spencer’s eerily silent office.

Suddenly, the door opened so quickly that Henry jumped in surprise. Looking up, he saw Gordon angrily storming out, slamming the door behind him. His face was red, and his cheeks had obvious tear tracks shining in the dim hallway light

Not realizing that Henry was sitting on the floor beside him, Gordon hid his face behind one hand and let out a strangled sob.

Henry’s heart broke at the sound. “Hey,” Henry said quietly.

Gordon flinched, clearly surprised to see Henry.

Henry continued, “Are you okay?”

Turning away and running a hand through his hair, Gordon gave a shaky chuckle. “Things just got a little heated in there, I’m fine-” his voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. “I’m fine,” he repeated, “I’m more worried about you. You’re the one who’s going to have to deal with him again tonight.”

Henry didn’t want to think about that.

With a deep sigh, Gordon spoke softly, “Henry, there’s something I should tell you. Come with me.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings for this chapter: Descriptive flashback of childhood sexual abuse (both involved are minors), mentions of past physical abuse.
> 
> This is one of the worst chapter of this story, and I understand if this is too much for some to handle. If you aren't comfortable reading this chapter but want to stay updated on the plot, leave a comment and I'll give you a brief summary and answer any questions you may have.

Henry and Gordon sat in tense silence out in the garden, on the same bench they sat in before. The Alpha looked troubled, as if he was reluctant to speak. Seeing him like that made Henry uneasy, especially after everything that had happened that day.

Gordon took a deep breath, his expression solemn, “What I’m about to say to you stays between us. The only reason I’m telling you any of this is because you deserve to know what kind of a person Spencer is, not that you haven’t gotten a clue already,” he said, briefly glancing at Henry’s bruises. “Nobody else can know this. If this gets out, my family could be ruined.”

Henry looked at Gordon sincerely, “I promise I won’t tell a soul.”

“You seem like someone I can trust,” Gordon chuckled weakly. “All right, here goes. Years ago, when Spencer and I were about thirteen…”

-

“Gordon?”

Gordon lifted his head from where it was buried in his arms, scowling when he saw Spencer standing a few feet away. “Go away,” he grumbled, wiping tears from his eyes.

Spencer ignored him, sitting beside Gordon and leaning against the hallway wall. “This is because of what Scot said, isn’t it? About you not being a real Alpha-”

“Shut up!” Gordon shouted, “Just because I don’t like any stupid Omegas doesn’t mean I’m not an Alpha!”

Spencer held his hands up defensively, “Hey, I didn’t say he was right!”

“Why do you care, anyway?” Gordon asked bitterly, “Are you just going to laugh at me because I’m crying? That’s all you ever do, tease me and laugh at me. Well, go ahead, take your shot.” Glaring at Spencer, Gordon lowered his head back into his arms, pulling his knees closer to his chest.

“I’m not gonna laugh at you,” Spencer said, even though he really wanted to. It was the _perfect_ opportunity, how could he not? “But, do you really not like Omegas? They smell so good, and they’re so pretty.”

“It’s not that I don’t like them,” Gordon huffed, “I just don’t care about them. I know a lot of my friends already found someone to be their mate when they’re older, but… I don’t want to look for a mate yet. Is it really that weird?”

Spencer didn’t say anything. He definitely thought it was weird, but saying so wouldn’t help the situation at all.

Gordon continued, “Plus, I don’t want to do the stuff that adults do.”

“What stuff?” Spencer asked, “Sex?”

Wincing at the word, Gordon nodded.

Spencer held back a laugh, “I think it’s gross too, but we’re going to have to do it when we’re older, right? I mean, apparently we’re going to want to do it, once puberty happens. It’s not like we’re doing it now.”

Gordon groaned.

“Maybe it’s not that bad. I mean, grown-ups must like it if they do it. Sure, it sounds gross, but if they like it…”

Gordon looked up, staring at Spencer quizzically.

Spencer inched closer, his body almost touching Gordon’s, “Do you wanna try it?”

“What?!” Recoiling in disgust, Gordon shoved Spencer away from him, “Spencer, we’re cousins!”

“Shh!” Spencer shushed Gordon, looking around to make sure nobody was watching or listening to them, “Don’t be so loud, someone might hear! You don’t want to get in trouble, do you?”

Gordon shook his head nervously.

“Come on,” Spencer said quietly, standing up and holding out a hand to Gordon, “let’s go to my room, no one will be able to catch us in there.”

“No way,” Gordon said sternly, “I don’t want to do that stuff, especially not with you!”

Spencer smirked, “What, are you too chicken?”

“I am not,” Gordon said with a scowl, “I just… don’t want to get in trouble.”

Spencer started making chicken noises as he slowly walked down the hall toward his room. He stifled a laugh when he saw Gordon growing increasingly frustrated. He grinned triumphantly when Gordon yelled “Fine!” and stormed towards him.

Soon, both boys sat on Spencer’s bed, several feet apart, neither looking at the other. They could each feel their hearts beating rapidly. Neither spoke a word for what felt like hours. Finally, Gordon broke the silence by clearing his throat. “So…” he said quietly, “what are we supposed to do?”

Spencer thought for a moment. “I guess we should start by… kissing.”

Gordon’s face turned bright red, still refusing to look in Spencer’s direction. “I guess…”

Spencer crawled over towards Gordon, who finally looked at him. His eyes gave away how nervous he was, and Spencer almost felt sorry for him. “We’ll go slow, I promise,” Spencer whispered as he brought their lips together in a chaste kiss. It lasted for only a moment, the two pulling away quickly.

“Wow,” Spencer said quietly. The kiss wasn’t as good as he had expected, but he still liked it. He’d never kissed anybody before, but he’d always wanted to try. Now that he had, he wanted more, even if it was Gordon who was his first.

Gordon, however, was not as impressed. He honestly felt disappointed. Deep down he had hoped the kiss would be fantastic, even if just to prove to himself that he wasn’t weird, and he could enjoy the same thing as everyone else did. Instead, he didn’t feel any different than before. But, something about the kiss left him wanting more. “Do you… do you want to do it again?”

Spencer nodded eagerly, closing the distance between the two of them again. This time, the kiss went on for more than a few seconds. Spencer’s heart leapt when he felt Gordon’s lips move against his. He squirmed as heat began to pool in his lower abdomen, his stomach fluttering in excitement.

Finally getting used to the kiss, Gordon began to feel excited as he found himself enjoying it. The fact that it was with Spencer wouldn’t leave his mind and it killed him knowing his first kiss was with his cousin, but for the moment he decided to just enjoy the knowledge that he wasn’t completely repulsed by being kissed. He let out an involuntary sound in his throat when he felt Spencer’s tongue lick at his lower lip.

With a grin, Spencer pulled back from the kiss. “Does it feel good?”

“...yeah,” Gordon said under his breath, not wanting to inflate Spencer’s ego any more than he probably already had.

“You made a sound… what does that mean?”

Gordon simply shrugged, unsure of what it meant himself.

“Fine,” Spencer rolled his eyes, “let’s try something else.”

Gordon gasped when he was suddenly pushed onto his back, his head hitting the pillows with a soft _puff_. He watched nervously as Spencer crawled on top of him.

“You know,” Spencer mused, “you look kind of pretty like this.”

“Spencer, again, we’re _cousins_!” Gordon protested, though his face reddened at the compliment.

Spencer smirked, “Hey, at least we’re not brothers.”

“Please don’t make me think of Scot right now…”

Spencer leaned down and kissed Gordon again, humming in pleasure when Gordon kissed back, although hesitantly. Both boys were beginning to enjoy themselves, any nervous feelings they had slowly ebbing away as they continued to kiss. When Spencer’s hips brushed against Gordon’s, both of them gasped and pulled back in surprise.

Spencer looked at Gordon with wide eyes, “...you’re hard.”

“So are you,” Gordon mumbled.

Spencer reached one hand down and cupped Gordon’s hardness. The surprised sound Gordon made in response made something inside Spencer leap. He wanted to hear that sound again. He moved his hand in a circular motion, grinning as Gordon gave a breathy groan in response. Amazed by Gordon’s reaction, Spencer was growing more curious by the second. “Does that feel good?” he asked.

Turning his head to the side and looking away from Spencer, Gordon nodded, biting his lip to keep quiet.

Spencer slipped his hand past the waistband of Gordon’s pants, palming at the warm hardness that met his hand. He wrapped his fingers around it, stroking it slowly.

As soon as Spencer’s hand made contact, Gordon’s back arched and he cried out, partially in shock, and partially in ecstasy. He had never felt anything like this before. The sensation overwhelmed him, and he was intimidated by it. Suddenly, Gordon really didn’t want to do this anymore. “Spencer, I want to stop,” he whined.

“Why?” Spencer asked, continuing to pump Gordon in his hand, “We’ve gotten this far, let’s just keep going, I want to see what happens.”

Gordon reached up and attempted to push Spencer off of him, “Do it to yourself then, I’m done.”

“No way, I like watching you.”

“Well I don’t like what you’re doing, get off of me!”

Spencer shifted so he straddled Gordon’s legs, pinning them down. With his free hand, he reached up and grabbed Gordon’s flailing arms, pinning those down as well.

Now unable to move, Gordon’s heart began to race as adrenaline coursed through his veins. He tried to move around enough to shake Spencer off of him, but he was much heavier than Gordon, and didn’t budge. Tears pricked at the corner of Gordon’s eyes as he realize how helpless he was.

“Why are you fighting me? Doesn’t this feel good?” Spencer asked. Something about Gordon’s struggling made him want to go even faster, _harder_. He enjoyed the feeling of power he had over his cousin. “I’m doing all this to make you feel good, you should just lie back and enjoy it.”

“Stop it!” Gordon shouted, “Get off of me!”

In one quick movement, Spencer took the hand he used to hold Gordon’s arms down and slapped him across the face. “If you don’t shut up then someone’s gonna come in here and find us! You don’t want to get in trouble, do you?”

“N-no,” Gordon hiccuped, tears trailing down his cheeks.

“Me either,” Spencer grabbed Gordon’s wrists once again and held them down, though he didn’t need to use the same force he did before, now that Gordon had stopped his struggling, “just stay still, let me make you feel good.”

Gordon wanted to scream, he wanted to cry, but mostly he wanted to push Spencer off of him as hard as he could and make him pay for doing this. Instead, he stayed silent, save for the occasional instinctive moan as Spencer continued his ministrations. Just when Gordon thought he couldn’t take any more, a sense of relief washed over him. His hips bucked involuntarily, though his movements were still limited by Spencer’s weight pinning his thighs down. As the feeling subsided, Gordon turned his head away, refusing to look in Spencer’s direction. He had never felt so used, so humiliated, so…

Broken.

-

“That was the moment I knew what kind of person Spencer was, and I became terrified of him,” Gordon’s expression was unreadable as he finished his story. “I wish I could say I’m not afraid of him anymore, but… he’s still much stronger than me. Just being around him puts me on edge. He’s a psychopath, and he’ll do whatever it takes to get what he wants.” Gordon’s eyes met Henry’s, and the pain behind them crushed Henry. “I’m seriously concerned for your safety, Henry. Whether you play along with what he wants or not, you’re going to get hurt.”

Henry had figured out that much before, but hearing it from Gordon made it all the more real. “What do we do?”

“Nothing,” Gordon scoffed, “there’s nothing we _can_ do. I’m planning to talk to my brother tonight, but I don’t think Scot’s going to do much about this, other than giving Spencer a slap on the wrist.”

Henry frowned, shivering as a cold breeze blew through the garden.

Gordon continued, “Would you be okay coming with me when I talk to Scot? I’ll need to show him evidence of what Spencer’s done to you.”

“Of course.”

“Good. Thank you, by the way.”

“You’re thanking me?” Henry asked, staring at Gordon in shock, “I’m the one who should be thanking you, for everything you’ve done today. You didn’t have to do any of this.”

“Yes I did,” Gordon said, standing up to go inside, “I refuse to let Spencer abuse anyone else.”

A moment of silence hung in the air between the two. Henry stood up, walked over, and pulled Gordon into a tight hug. He buried his face into the soft fabric of Gordon’s shirt, feeling the Alpha’s strong heartbeat against his cheek.

Gordon returned the hug, wrapping his arms around Henry protectively. That word seemed to echo in Gordon’s mind, _protect_. Seeing the Omega in pain was hard enough, but knowing it was Spencer who caused it? That made Gordon’s blood boil. He absentmindedly began to rub Henry’s back, only to pull back in alarm when Henry cried out in pain. “Oh god, I’m so sorry, did I-?”

“It’s fine, really,” Henry groaned, “I’ve just got a little… on my back…”

Gordon turned Henry around and gingerly lifted his shirt, and when he saw the array of marks littered across Henry’s back his face paled. “Oh my god, Henry…”

“Is it bad?”

Gordon’s mouth hung open in speechless awe. “Is it- is it _bad?_ How much pain are you in?! Nevermind that, before we talk to Scot we need to take you to Daisy, she knows first aid and can take care of this.”

-

After a quick trip to Daisy and an even quicker treatment, Henry was sent off, his back bandaged up uncomfortably. Gordon lead him into Scot’s office, and the latter guided them over to some armchairs that sat facing his desk. “Now then,” Scot said, taking a seat in his own desk chair, “what seems to be the problem.”

“I want you to take a look at Henry and tell me what you think the problem is,” Gordon said sternly.

Scot looked over to Henry and finally seemed to notice the large bruise on his face. His lips pressed together in worry as he surveyed the damage Henry sustained. “Well that’s… troublesome,” Scot muttered.

Gordon sneered, “Yeah, putting it lightly.”

Ignoring Gordon, Scot spoke directly to Henry. “Did Spencer do this to you?”

Henry nodded.

Looking away in thought, Scot sat back and exhaled deeply. He looked back to Henry, “I’ll talk to him about this.”

Gordon stared at Scot, slack-jawed. “That’s it?” he laughed sarcastically, “You’ll talk to him?”

“Well what do you want me to do, ground him? I’m going to have a talk with him about it, what more do you want me to do? Sure, he can be a bit of an ass, but I’ve never known him to behave like this,” Scot motioned over to Henry, referring to his injuries. “Think about it, Gordon, have you ever seen him do anything like this before?”

Gordon shifted in his seat, his eyes darting away. “No,” he murmured.

"Exactly," Scot continued, “This is unusual behavior for him, Gordon. I want to know if there’s something personal he’s dealing with to cause him to act out like this. I’m not excusing his actions, I assure you. I’ll make it clear to him that he needs to control himself.”

“And if he ignores you and does it again?” Gordon asked, his brow raised in question.

Scot shook his head, unsure of what to say. “I can’t guarantee he won’t do this again, but I’ll let him know that there will be consequences for this kind of behavior. I don’t want that sort of abuse going on in this house.”

-

Once things were settled with Scot, Henry spent the rest of the afternoon mucking about in the garden and planning what would need to be done to get everything looking alive again. A bit of weeding here and there was first on the list, and with a sigh he decided to wait until tomorrow to start. Looking up at the sky, he saw the sun barely peeking out from behind some clouds, making its way slowly behind the mountains in the distance.

With a groan, Henry stood up and stretched his sore limbs, eager to take a bath and go right to sleep. However, dread clawed at his chest when he realized there was a chance Spencer was waiting for him. He debated whether he should even go back to his room tonight, but upon realizing he had nowhere else to spend the night (and imagining the rage he would no doubt endure from Spencer), Henry resigned himself to sucking it up and facing the music.

As he suspected, Henry had barely pushed his bedroom door open when he saw the lights were already on, and Spencer was sitting at the foot of his bed.

Time stood still the moment Henry shut the door and turned around. Now he was alone with Spencer, and the idea made Henry want to scream. He stood in the doorway, unmoving, watching Spencer cautiously. He could feel his heart threatening to beat out of his chest as he held eye contact with the Alpha for an uncomfortable amount of time, refusing to look away out of both fear and stubbornness.

Spencer didn’t blink as his eyes bore into Henry’s, his jaw tense with anger. After a few moments of tense silence, Spencer spoke in a grave tone. “Did you tell Gordon?”

Unsure of what Spencer was referring to, Henry’s brow furrowed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I didn’t tell Gordon anything.” Henry realized that might not necessarily be true, depending on what Spencer was implying. He hoped he wouldn’t get punished for lying.

Spencer’s fist, which rested on his leg, tightened. “Did you or did you not go to Gordon about this?”

By ‘this’ Henry assumed Spencer meant what happened in his office. Henry took a nervous breath, moving slowly towards his dresser. “I happened to run into him in the hallway this morning, he saw me-” _’And my bruises…’_ “-and took me to you. I didn’t tell him to, it was all his decision.” Henry’s heart pounded as he awaited Spencer’s answer.

Spencer was thoughtful for a moment. “So,” he scoffed, “when an Alpha wants to stick his nose into business that isn’t his you obey blindly, but when your Alpha commands you to obey, suddenly you’re no longer compliant. Interesting.”

With his hands behind his back, Henry grabbed the solid metal comb that he left on his dresser that morning, should he need something to defend himself. When Spencer suddenly stood up, Henry’s body tensed, preparing to fight back. However, without another word Spencer left, shutting the door quietly behind him.

-

When Henry woke up the next morning, he was surprised to see someone had left him something on his bedside table. To his horror, it was a silver collar. The note attached read _“You are to wear this at all times from now on, to remind yourself just who you belong to.”_


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings for this chapter: mentions of past trauma, mentions of physical abuse.

“So, you met James,” Edward said matter-of-factly as he handed Henry a mug of tea, “how long did he talk about himself?”

Henry laughed, leaning back into the plump couch cushion, “Well, when he answered the door he seemed excited to see me. He said me being alive has made you happy again, and he thanked me for not being dead. Didn’t really say much about himself,” he said sarcastically.

Edward rolled his eyes, “Dramatic.” Taking a sip of tea, he smiled warmly at Henry, “I’m certainly glad you’re doing well, though. I’ve felt so guilty about what happened, I couldn’t bear the thought that something happened to you because of me.”

“Hey,” Henry said softly, “don’t you dare blame yourself for what happened. It’s not your fault, and you know it.”

Edward gave Henry a look of discomfort. “Um, are you sure you want to talk about… I mean, in front of…” Edward jerked his head towards the corner of the room, where Bert stood and watched the two with a stone-faced expression.

“Oh, don’t mind him, I’m supposed to have someone with me at all times when I leave the house. He’s usually pretty quiet, I sometimes forget he’s there.” Henry smiled awkwardly, acknowledging Bert with a nod, who gave Henry a nod and a smile in return.

Edward gave a light laugh. “A bodyguard? Someone must think you’re pretty special to want you protected like that.”

“Valuable, more like…” Henry mumbled as he pressed his mug to his lips.

“Valuable,” Edward parroted sadly. “You were stolen like property and sold like livestock.” Looking down, Edward’s expression saddened. “I was careless. I didn’t protect the house like I should have. Me, Toby and Henrietta should have taken responsibility as the Betas of the house to keep all the Omegas safe. We obviously didn’t do enough. I didn’t do enough…”

Henry frowned, “Edward, there was nothing you could have done to prevent those Alphas from breaking in. They targeted our house for a reason, and they would’ve done whatever it took to get what they wanted. What’s done is done, there’s no reason to keep blaming yourself, especially since it wasn’t your fault.” Seeing the pain in Edward’s eyes, Henry put his hand on Edward’s knee comfortingly. “Let’s just be thankful everything is fine. Just because we haven’t heard from everyone doesn’t mean they’re dead. Maybe someday we’ll all be able to see each other again. We’ll find Ashima and Diesel, and you can tell Toby and Henrietta and-”

Edward looked up sadly, “Henry… Toby and Henrietta were killed that night.”

The color drained from Henry’s face. “What?” he asked, brow furrowed in disbelief, “But I thought…”

“They confronted some Alphas they found trying to take Ashima,” Edward said solemnly, “but the attackers had guns. They spent the last moments of their life fighting, and all I could do was cower in fear. I hid while they took action, and they died because

“Edward, they didn’t die because of you, they died because of those Alphas-”

“I could’ve helped them,” Edward’s voice cracked as he fought back tears, “I could’ve done something, _anything_ , but I chose to be a coward. I couldn’t bring myself to do what any decent human being would have done and fought for the safety of others, for the poor Omegas who couldn’t defend themselves. By the time I came to my senses and worked up the courage to face the intruders, it was too late. They were gone, the Alpha, and everyone I had come to love and care for. In the blink of an eye, just… gone. Toby and Henrietta, two of my closest friends and the kindest people I ever knew, died doing what I didn’t have the guts to do.

“And every Omega, snatched away, taken who knows where. I didn’t even know what happened to you all for so long, it killed me. I couldn’t even wrap my mind around where you all could have been taken. Sometimes I was glad I didn’t know. Not knowing was torture, but knowing you were kidnapped and sold against your will… I can’t believe it. And who knows what happened to Diesel and Ashima…” Edward took a shaky breath, “I’m so sorry. I should have done more to protect you. I promised you a better life and I broke that promise in the worst way. I’m so, so sorry.”

Looking into Edward’s eyes sincerely,, “When you took me in, you gave me a better life than I could have ever imagined. You gave me a place to live, you fed me, you kept me safe, much safer than I was living by myself in the worst part of town. When I struggled with hating myself for being an Omega, you were the one who comforted me and taught me to love myself. Most importantly, you, and Toby, Henrietta, Diesel, and Ashima, you all gave me a family to be a part of. I never had a family until you guys found me. You didn’t break your promise. You went beyond your promise. You promised to help me survive, but what you did for me helped me _live._ ”

With a small smile, Edward sniffled and wiped a tear from his cheek. “Even if I did all of that, I still lost you.”

“You didn’t lose me,” Henry said softly, “I was taken from you. It wasn’t your fault. I was going to have to leave the house and find an Alpha eventually, this was just a bit more… rushed than I would have liked.”

Edward gave a weak laugh, “I just can’t believe you’re alive, that’s all I’ve been hoping and wishing for.” Edward wiped a tear from his cheek, pulling Henry into a hug, “I’m so glad you’re safe.”

Henry grimaced as Edward’s hands pressed against the sensitive wounds on his back. Even though they were covered with bandages and a thick sweater, the touch still made them sting.

Edward pulled back from the hug in alarm. “Did I hurt you?”

“It’s, uh, it’s nothing, really…” Henry was unsure if he should tell Edward about everything that had happened. He didn’t want Edward to worry, especially after already spending so many months worrying about him. However, he couldn’t lie to someone who cared about him as much as Edward did.

As if sensing Henry’s unease, Edward’s brow furrowed. “There’s something going on, isn’t there? I can see in your eyes something’s bothering you,” he said gravely.

Without a word, Henry rolled up his sleeves, showing Edward his bruised wrists. When Edward said nothing, he reached out and took Edward’s hand, bringing the Beta’s fingers up to brush against the spot on Henry’s cheek where the bruise lay hidden beneath layers of concealer.

When Edward pulled his hand back, he stared in horror at the brown makeup coating his fingertips.

“It gets better,” Henry said as he pulled down his turtleneck to reveal the silver collar wrapped around his throat.

Edward leaned in and read the tag aloud: “Property of Spencer Gresley.”

“Jesus, that’s obsessive _and_ kinky,” a voice suddenly cut in.

Edward rolled his eyes, “Not a good time, James.”

Henry quickly pulled his turtleneck back up over his collar and rolled down his sleeves. Looking over, he saw James leaning lazily against the doorway, a look of distaste on his face.

“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop,” James said, “I just saw the collar and couldn’t believe it. Your Alpha really makes you wear that?”

Henry nodded timidly.

James scoffed, “Alphas like that give us all a bad name. No wonder Omegas are afraid of us.”

“Any particular reason you came in here, James?” Edward asked, clearly annoyed at his presence. “We’re sort of in the middle of a conversation. You know, something we haven’t done in months. Because I thought Henry was dead.”

James put his hands up defensively, “I just wanted to see how things were going, didn’t realize I was walking into an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians.”

Edward sighed, “James, if you’re not here to politely join in our conversation-”

As Edward and James bickered, Henry felt something stirring inside him. A warm feeling was blooming in his lower abdomen, and he shivered as a chill ran up his spine. He was suddenly overcome with a feeling of desperate need. To his horror, Henry suddenly realized what was happening.

“I… I think I should go,” Henry’s voice could barely manage a whisper.

Edward looked at Henry apologetically, “Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” Edward shot James a disapproving glare, “He and I can continue this discussion later.”

Henry shook his head, breathing heavily, “No, it’s not that.”

“Are you alright?” James asked, looking at Henry worriedly, “You look like you’re about to pass out.”

Hearing this, Bert perked up, watching Henry intently.

Henry gave Bert a look that said ‘we need to go, _now’_ before turning to Edward.

“My heat just started.”

-

Henry groaned as yet another wave of warmth took over his body. Bert gently escorted him out of the car and through the front door. No sooner had the door shut behind them did the Beta’s voice call out, “Somebody find Spencer, immediately!”

Daisy peaked out from around a corner, “Sorry dear, but Spencer left about an hour ago.”

“What?” Henry gasped, “Where did he go? When will he be back?”

“I’m not sure,” Daisy shrugged, “Scot was upset with Spencer about something and sent him somewhere last minute. He won’t be back for at least a few days, from what I heard. What do you need him for?”

Henry could have collapsed right then and there. He’d be without an Alpha for nearly his whole heat. Sure, he’d managed before, but after hearing how much easier heats were when you had an Alpha with you, Henry had been looking forward to having Spencer help him with his heat. No such luck this time, though.

Bert sneered at Daisy, “Not that it’s any of your business, but Henry needs Spencer’s… _assistance._ ”

“Oh, _oh,_ ” Daisy smirked knowingly, “I see, it’s that kind of a situation then. Well, my condolences dear, but it looks like you’ll have to do that yourself and hope he gets back soon.”

Bert mumbled something about vulgarity before turning to Henry, “Need me to help you to your nesting room?”

“Thank you,” Henry said weakly, “but I can manage myself. I’d rather go alone.”

Bert nodded, “If you say so.”

Henry thanked Bert and quickly made his way upstairs, trying to remember where his nesting room was. As he wandered down the hall and turned the corner, he found himself nearly running into Gordon. _’God fucking damn it, why now?!’_

“We seem to keep running into each other, don’t we?” Gordon chuckled.

Trying to hide his desperation, Henry ignored Gordon, stepping to the side and praying his nesting room was somewhere nearby.

When Gordon noticed the distressed look on Henry’s face, he stopped him, reaching out to grab him by the arm. “What’s wrong? You look incredibly pale, are you okay?”

As soon as Gordon’s hand was on him, Henry could feel his resolve melting away. The touch practically sent a shockwave through his body. _’Ohhh no, no no no, this can’t be happening,’_ Henry thought in a panic. “Y-you need to get out of here,” Henry said between deep breaths, “I can’t be around you.”

“Are you sick?”

“No, I-”

“Do you need me to get you anything?”

Henry was growing frustrated. Couldn’t Gordon see he wanted to be left alone! _”My heat just started,”_ he hissed through his teeth.

As soon as he said the words, Henry wished he hadn’t. A tense silence fell between them. Henry swore he saw Gordon’s pupils dilate. He tried wiggling his arm out of Gordon’s grasp, but his grip only grew stronger. A million thoughts raced through Henry’s mind at once; as much as he wanted to cave in and do what his body was screaming at him to do, he knew that once he did, they could _never_ go back. Everything would be different between them. The aftermath of such actions would be hell to deal with. They would be forever hiding a dark secret from everyone around them, and Henry knew he wasn’t prepared to take on that heavy of a burden.

Nevertheless, none of that could convince his hormones, which were going haywire right about now, that it wouldn’t be worth it. _Just a quick fuck,_ they seemed to beg, _just one nice, long fuck and everything will be better._

Looking into Gordon’s eyes, Henry could tell his mind was racing as well.

Gordon could’ve smacked himself for being so oblivious. Now that Henry had confirmed he was in heat, the pheromones wafting off of him seemed so obvious. Gordon’s heart rate skyrocketed as he took in the sweet smell, his hands desperate to touch Henry’s body in any and every way he could. When he felt Henry’s arm start to slip out of his grasp, his hand instantly tightened around it. All this time they’ve spent tantalizingly close to each other, getting a little too flirtatious and stopping themselves, every moment of their eyes lingering on each other for even just a second longer than they should have in an unspoken longing, and finally…

Finally, this was their opportunity.

Holding back a whine of desperation, Henry turned away. “I need to get inside… please…”

Once again, Gordon stopped Henry as he tried to move away. His eyes trailed down Henry’s body, a sudden urge to rip Henry’s clothes off filling his mind. Pulling Henry towards him, Gordon leaned in, his lips brushing against Henry’s ear. “I can help you,” he whispered. “I know you need it. I know how much Omegas crave an Alpha when they’re in heat, how desperate they are to be fucked. I can help you with that.”

 _’I can’t,’_ Henry wanted to say. The words wouldn’t leave his throat, no matter how much he tried. It was as if he lost all control of himself, being so close to Gordon and feeling his breath on his ear. He could smell Gordon’s arousal clearly, and it made Henry’s legs weak. He knew he should say no. He knew he should be saying literally anything right now. Henry was helpless as his mouth betrayed him. The only thing he could say was…

_“Please.”_

In an instant, Gordon pulled Henry into a hungry kiss, and the Omega seemed to melt in his arms. Gordon pulled back and Henry gasped, both for air and out of surprise. Before Henry could say anything, Gordon dove back in, their lips connecting for a second time. When Gordon broke the kiss again, he left a trail of hungry kisses going down Henry’s neck to his shoulder. His hands slithered down to rest on Henry’s ass, giving it a firm squeeze.

Henry felt intense heat spreading from his groin throughout his whole body. “So this is happening, huh?” he gasped, asking himself more than he was asking Gordon.

Pressing one last kiss to Henry’s collarbone, Gordon lifted his head, his eyes meeting Henry’s. “Do you want this to happen?”

Henry’s stomach flipped, the sound of Gordon’s voice husky with arousal sending shivers down his spine. “I shouldn’t…”

“Henry, you say the word and we’ll stop. I’ll leave you alone, we’ll forget all about this, and never speak of it again. Just tell me to stop.”

Henry stared at Gordon, saying nothing.

Without another word, Gordon kissed him again, hoisting Henry up to pin him against the wall. The Alpha let out a hungry growl when he felt Henry’s legs wrap around his waist to hold himself up.

Sharp pain seared Henry’s back as it pressed against the wall, but the adrenaline and arousal rushing through him fought it away. The feeling of Gordon’s body pressed against his was driving him crazy. Henry held Gordon’s face in his hands as they kissed, the Alpha’s skin warm against his palm.

With a low growl, Gordon began to grind his hips against Henry’s, who gave a throaty moan in response. Gordon’s hands gripped Henry’s ass as he ground down harder. He could smell Henry’s arousal growing stronger with every passing second, and it brought out something predatory inside of Gordon. His instincts were screaming at him to take Henry rough and hard, but he retained enough of his senses to remember that Henry had injuries, and Gordon didn’t want to risk making them worse. He would have to be as gentle as he could.

As Gordon continued to grind against him, Henry broke the kiss to catch his breath, feeling dizzy from both arousal and lack of air. “We need- ngh, we need to go to my nesting room, someone’s going to- _fuck,_ they’re going to see us out here.”

Gordon halted his hips and stepped back to let Henry gently drop down to the floor. Seeing how shaky Henry’s legs were, Gordon wrapped one arm around the Omega’s shoulders and guided him down the hall. They walked no more than ten feet before Gordon stopped them and pushed open a door on their left.

 _’Huh,’_ Henry thought, _’this was conveniently close.’_ Looking around, he saw the room was nearly empty save for a small mountain of pillows and blankets, a full length mirror hanging on one wall, and a small chest. The walls had soundproofing foam plastered from floor to ceiling, leading Henry to wonder just how thin the walls were in the other rooms of the house.

No sooner had Gordon shut the door did he pull Henry into another fierce kiss, leading him towards the pile in the middle of the room. They fell to the floor, Henry on his back with Gordon on top of him, pinning him down with his body weight. Henry shivered in excitement when his shirt was slowly slipped off and tossed to the side. In an instant, Gordon was peppering Henry’s collarbone and chest with a flurry of licks and kisses, leaving tingles of pleasure in his wake. With a sharp cry, Henry arched his back as Gordon pressed his tongue flat against one of Henry’s nipples, licking a short stripe against it. “ _F-fuck,_ ” Henry gasped. His body was hypersensitive to each and every touch because of his heat, and Henry didn’t know how much longer he could take this. At the same time, he never wanted this to stop.

Encouraged by his response, Gordon took Henry’s nipple between his teeth and tugged lightly. His hands snaked down to feel and squeeze Henry’s thighs, which spread instinctively to allow access to the Alpha. Sliding Henry’s pants and underwear off slowly, Gordon continued his trail of kisses down Henry’s stomach towards his crotch.

Once his pants had been removed and discarded, Henry felt his arousal spring free, the cool air making him wince. Soon, however, the feeling was replaced by the unbearable warmth of Gordon’s mouth. “Oh _fuck_...!” Henry gave a strangled cry, his hands reaching down to tangle in Gordon’s hair. “A-ah, Gordon,” he gasped, “fuck, don’t stop, _please_...”

Gordon bobbed his head at a leisurely pace, enjoying the feeling of Henry’s hands on his head and the sounds he made. Gordon could feel his own arousal straining against his pants, and he reached down with one hand and undid his pants, freeing his throbbing erection. Giving it a few lazy strokes, he continued sucking Henry off, eager to bring him to orgasm for what would definitely not be the only time that afternoon. With his free hand, Gordon gripped the base of Henry’s cock, pumping the portion he couldn’t reach with his mouth.

As he felt intense heat pooling in his abdomen, Henry saw stars. For the first time in his life, he was receiving pleasure from someone else, and it felt _wonderful._ “Ah, ahn…” Henry gasped as he felt his orgasm getting closer and closer, threatening to overcome him at any moment, “f-fuck, I’m close- Hhah-nn, g-god…”

In one quick motion, Gordon bobbed his head even further, taking Henry in almost down to the base.

“Sh-shit, _shit,_ ahn- _ah!_ ” Henry cried loudly as he came, his hips twitching wildly.

Gordon swallowed it all easily, watching Henry’s face with complete captivation. He’d never seen a sight more beautiful. Pulling his mouth off of Henry’s cock with a _pop,_ Gordon made quick work removing his own pants, scrambling to position himself above Henry. He gingerly gripped Henry’s thighs and spread his legs, lining his dripping cock up with Henry’s slick entrance. Gordon paused, looking into Henry’s eyes, silently asking permission. When Henry nodded, Gordon proceeded, sliding into Henry with delicious ease. The two moaned in tandem as Gordon’s hips met Henry’s, a sign he had fully sheathed himself inside Henry.

Gordon practically purred at the feeling of Henry’s wet heat surrounding him. The sounds Henry made only turned Gordon on more. He had to restrain himself from furiously pounding into the Omega, as much as he wanted to _so goddamn badly._

Though this wasn’t Henry’s first time having someone inside him, it was the first time the feeling made his legs tremble from the sheer pleasure of it. He reached up and gripped Gordon’s back, digging his nails into the skin hard enough to leave marks.

Taking this as his cue to move, Gordon pulled his cock almost all the way out before slamming it back in again. The cry Henry let out made Gordon’s vision go white. He leaned down to bite and lick at Henry’s neck, his hips picking up a steady, quick pace. He bit an angry bruise into the base of Henry’s neck, just above his collarbone. Several more soon joined, littering the skin on Henry’s neck. The sight drove Gordon wild. He gripped Henry’s hips and pounded into him.

Henry moaned even louder, throwing his head back and raking his nails down Gordon’s back. “Oh-h god, harder…”

God, that was hot. Gordon could feel his orgasm approaching quickly. All it would take was just the slightest sound from Henry-

“F-fuck, _Gordon…_ ”

That did it.

With a throaty groan, Gordon snapped his hips up and buried himself as deep inside Henry as he could, coating the Omega’s insides with his seed. He could feel his knot start to swell, interlocking their bodies and making it impossible for Gordon to move for the next half hour at least. Not that he would’ve moved anyway, laying on top of Henry and holding him close felt heavenly.

As Henry panted, trying in vain to catch his breath, he felt warmth spread in his chest as Gordon snuggled close to him. Even if Gordon’s knot hadn’t rendered them stuck, Henry guessed Gordon would have laid with him like this anyway. The feeling of being treated with such love and adoration after sex was foreign to Henry, and he suddenly felt overwhelmed with bitter longing that this wouldn’t be the norm for him. Sooner or later, he’d have to go back to Spencer, and suffer through all of the rough treatment, and the abuse, and the feeling of worthlessness he always felt when Spencer was done with him.

Henry shook the thoughts from his head. Right now, he had Gordon, an Alpha that made him feel safe and warm. That was all that mattered. Henry pulled Gordon up and brought their lips together in a firm kiss.

Pulling back, Gordon chuckled. “When this knot goes down, I’m fucking you twice as hard.”

This was going to be a long night.

-

The next morning, the two woke to find themselves in a sticky mess, limbs still tangled together, and a sudden memory of what happened the night before slowly fading into their minds.

Reaching up to brush hair out of his eyes, Henry felt a surge of dull pain coming from his neck. “Fuck…” he mumbled. He heard Gordon stirring awake next to him. “What did you do to me?” Henry asked with a chuckle.

With a smirk, Gordon rolled over and propped himself up onto his elbows. “What didn’t I do to you?”

Henry swatted Gordon playfully with a pillow. “Pervert,” he giggled.

“You loved it,” Gordon chuckled, snatching the pillow from Henry’s hand and tossing it to the side. “Besides, I think my back could give your neck a run for its money.”

Glancing over at Gordon’s exposed back, Henry could see long, angry red lines streaking down from Gordon’s shoulders to his hips. Henry’s face flushed in embarrassment. “Oh god,” he stammered, “I’m so sorry…”

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for” Gordon said with a playful wink.

The idea of another night with Gordon made Henry’s stomach flip. On the one hand, Henry would give anything to spend another night with Gordon. But on the other hand, Henry knew the longer this went on, the harder it would be to stop.

Hoping to change the subject, Henry sat up with a strained grunt. “I guess I should get going, then-”

As Henry moved to get up, he felt Gordon’s hand rest on top of his own. Looking back, his eyes were met with the sight of Gordon laying amongst the mess of pillows and blankets, his silver-gray hair splayed messily across a silk blue pillowcase. His eyes had a content but sleepy expression. Henry’s heart leapt at the sight.

“Wait,” Gordon said, “before you leave, I need to ask you something.”

“Anything,” Henry replied softly.

Gordon took a deep breath, his expression pensive. “Is this going to be just a one time thing?”

Henry looked away, staring at the wall as he thought. “What do you want it to be?” he asked, still looking away.

Gordon was silent for a moment as he thought. “I want this to continue,” he said softly, his cheeks tinged with pink, “I’ve wanted this for a while, and now that I know what it’s like, I don’t ever want it to stop. I know this is wrong, and I know I should care that it’s wrong, but I don’t. I want this. I want you.”

Henry finally turned back to look at Gordon, his face overtaken with worry. “That’s what I was afraid of.”

Gordon hummed thoughtfully, his eyes darting away, “I take it you don’t feel the same way.”

“On the contrary, I feel exactly the same,” Henry said sadly. “You were supposed to be the one to put a stop to all of this before it started. You were supposed to tell me I was delusional, that this couldn’t continue, and we could both go on with our lives peacefully. I needed you to tell me all of that because I’m not strong enough to tell myself.” With a heavy sigh, he ran his hands through his hair.

Gordon looked back at Henry, a slight smile on his face. “Really?”

Henry nodded weakly. “Really.”

“So,” Gordon mused, the smile never leaving his face, “what do you want to do?”

“...you mean in general, or right this minute?”

“Either is fine.”

Henry shrugged, worry clouding his features.

With a grunt, Gordon sat up, stretching and looking around for his clothes. He spotted his shirt and snatched it off the floor. “Well,” he said, “as the Alpha, I say we start by going downstairs to get something to eat, I’m starving.”

Henry nearly choked. “Are you crazy?” he asked with a half laugh, “We can’t just go down there like this! I need to take a shower, find something different to wear, check the damage to my neck-”

Gordon chuckled, standing up to locate the rest of his clothes, “I told you, don’t worry about what anyone else here sees. They know when to mind their business.”

“Oh, really? Even when it comes to infidelity?”

“Come on,” Gordon rolled his eyes with another chuckle, “you could bring home someone new every night and nobody would say a word to Spencer. It’s _Spencer,_ no one cares.”

Henry stared at Gordon in disbelief, “That is so many levels of fucked up, we don’t even have time to get into how fucked up that is.”

Gordon laughed, now fully dressed and standing in front of the mirror, attempting to fix his hair. “Would you rather everybody here be incredibly nosy and spread gossip like wildfire?”

“I’d rather not be in a position where I have to worry about what people see and hear, honestly.”

Gordon’s heart sank when he heard the distress in Henry’s tone. “Hey,” he said softly, walking back over to sit beside Henry. He reached out and took Henry’s hands in his own, “I know this isn’t fun to deal with, but everything is going to be okay. I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise. You can stay here, I’ll bring you something and we can eat in here. Sound good?”

Looking into Gordon’s eyes, Henry felt a sense of comfort. He had a feeling he could really trust Gordon, and his words relieved some of the overwhelming stress Henry was beginning to feel. Without thinking, he leaned in and gave Gordon a grateful kiss.

Realizing what he had done, Henry quickly pulled away, his eyes wide. “Sorry,” he said sheepishly.

“Don’t be,” Gordon smiled, “I could get used to that.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen, I know you can’t grow flowers when it’s about to get super fuckin’ cold just ignore it for the sake of the story please I’m begging you.
> 
> Trigger warnings for this chapter: Graphic physical abuse, verbal abuse, mentions of childhood sexual abuse but, like, in a victim-shaming sort of way.

For the rest of the week, every time Henry would feel the aching of his heat creeping up on him, he’d find Gordon to help him relieve it, whether it was in Gordon’s bedroom, a hall closet, or, on one occasion, in a corner of the garden. Every time they did it, the risk of Spencer coming back was higher, and Henry was aware of this. However, he decided to enjoy everything while it lasted. He even removed the collar Spencer had so generously gifted him, partly out of defiance, and partly so Gordon could leave more kisses and hickies on his neck. Henry never thought he’d be grateful that he was already having to use makeup to cover up marks left by Spencer, now he could cover the marks left by Gordon without making Spencer suspicious.

Sooner than Henry would have liked, and on the last day of his heat, Spencer finally returned. Henry discovered this when he practically ran into Spencer on his way to find Gordon. For a moment, Henry panicked, hoping Spencer couldn’t smell Gordon on him from the week they’d spent screwing around.

“Son of a-!” Spencer shouted before realizing it was Henry who had nearly knocked him over. He smiled, “Well well, are you that excited to see me?”

 _’Fuck it, he’ll have to do.’_ Henry thought as he pulled Spencer into a desperate kiss, who responded with a hungry growl. As Spencer backed him against a wall, Henry gasped in pain from the nearly healed wounds on his back.

“I see your heat isn’t quite over yet,” Spencer purred, “please, allow me to assist you.”

Henry yelped in surprise as Spencer swept him up into his arms, carrying Henry down the hall and into his bedroom. Henry looked around, realizing he had never been in Spencer’s bedroom before. The entire room was decorated in neutral gray and silver tones, with the only source of color coming from the array of books on the bookshelf beside the window. Everything else was practically colorless. Henry stifled a laugh. _’There’s a ‘50 Shades of Gray’ joke to be made here, but that’s beneath me…’_ He gasped when Spencer quite literally tossed him down onto his bed. The Alpha was on top of him in seconds, and for once Henry was looking forward to what Spencer was about to do to him.

However, even as he was fucked within an inch of his life, satisfying the burning itch spreading through his body like wildfire, Henry couldn’t keep Gordon off of his mind.

When they finished, lying on Spencer’s bed sweaty and panting, Henry noticed Spencer looking at him with a puzzled expression. “What?” Henry asked, sitting up and leaning back against the headboard.

Spencer’s eyes glanced down to Henry’s neck, narrowed in suspicion. “Any particular reason you didn’t wear the collar I specifically instructed you to?”

Henry could feel the color drain from his face. “I did wear it,” he said weakly, panic rising in his throat.

“You aren’t wearing it now.”

Knowing he was already screwed, Henry didn’t even bother trying to lie about this. “I’m sorry,” he said, sounding as pitiful as he could to try and gain Spencer’s sympathy, “I-I didn’t want to wear it because it irritated my skin, I get super sensitive to touch while I’m in heat…”

Spencer’s expression softened. “Fine,” he sighed, “just wear it from now on, okay?”

Henry nodded, surprised by Spencer’s sudden relaxed tone. Did his plan work? Had he finally discovered the key to placating Spencer?

“Go get it and bring it here.”

Henry blinked. “What?”

“Go and get your collar. Then bring it to me so I can put it on you.”

Reluctantly, Henry got out of bed and went to his own room, rummaging around in a drawer until he felt the leather and cold metal against his fingertips. Henry shuddered, grabbing it and heading back to Spencer’s room.

Spencer reached out and delicately clipped the collar around Henry’s neck. Gazing at the silver tag with ‘Property of Spencer Gresley’ engraved into it, Spencer smiled smugly. “Beautiful,” he mumbled, leaning in and giving Henry a quick kiss on the cheek, “having my name presented front and center for everybody to see really suits you.”

Henry forced himself to smile and not punch Spencer in the face.

-

“Okay, I know this one is lavender, and this one is… uh…” Gordon trailed off, scratching his neck in thought.

Henry giggled, “You were right about the lavender, and these are called blanket flowers.” He pointed to a bush a few feet away that was just starting to bloom with bundles of small flowers. “Do you know what those are?”

“Hydrangeas.”

“Wow, you actually got that right.”

“Well,” Gordon looked down, fiddling with the watering can in his hands, “they were one of my mom’s favorites, she always talked about them. She’d get so upset when they didn’t bloom on time, she was always afraid one day she was going to do something wrong and accidentally kill them.”

Henry laughed, looking out over the stretch of green buds. “Hydrangeas are a sort of finicky flower. They don’t always turn out the way you expect them to, but they’re still just as beautiful.”

“Sounds kind of like life in general,” Gordon said thoughtfully.

Looking over, Henry’s eyes met Gordon’s. Both of them looked away quickly.

Gordon cleared his throat to break the awkward silence. “How are you not freezing?”

Henry laughed and continued watering the budding blooms in front of him, “I’m wearing a sweater, I’m fine.”

“It’s nearly October, sweater weather is turning into jacket weather.”

Henry turned to look at Gordon. “If you’re trying to offer me your coat, that’s a terrible idea,” Henry said quietly. “Look at how many windows look out into this garden, someone could see us.”

Gordon rolled his eyes, “I told you, no one cares-”

 _”Spencer_ could see us.”

“...”

“Exactly.” Henry went back to watering the sprouting plants in front of him, ignoring Gordon grumbling something along the lines of ‘just trying to be nice’ with a pout.

Suddenly a thought popped into Henry’s head. He wasn’t sure if he should bring it up, but he wondered… “Can I ask you something kind of personal?”

“I don’t see why not,” Gordon said with a smile.

“Why haven’t you told anybody about what Spencer did to you? I know it was a long time ago, but it’s never too late to tell someone. I just hate that you have to suffer in silence while Spencer lives and works with you. It’s not fair.”

Gordon’s smile instantly disappeared. He looked down, a hint of panic in his expression.

Seeing Gordon distressed made Henry regret bringing it up. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have mentioned it. If you don’t want to talk about it-”

“If I told Scot about what happened, he’d understandably want nothing to do with Spencer, and he’d cut him off from the family. Spencer would be forced to leave this house, taking you with him, and leaving me to take the job I’m trying to encourage Scot to give to Spencer. Telling Scot everything might mean Spencer would get what he deserves, but it wouldn’t be worth everything else that would come with it.”

Henry hadn’t thought about it like that. He couldn’t bear the thought of Spencer taking him who knows where. Even worse, he couldn’t imagine leaving Gordon. “Well, at least it’s all in the past now. I’m just sorry you have to live with him and see him every day.”

Gordon smiled sadly, “I could say the same to you.”

“I’m still holding out hope that he’s changing. I don’t know where Scot sent him or what he said, but since Spencer’s been back he hasn’t been too bad. He got a little pissed when I forgot to wear my collar, but he took it pretty well. Maybe he’s starting to mellow out a bit. I mean, he’s still sort of a dick to you, but not nearly as bad as what happened years ago, right?”

Gordon didn’t respond.

Henry could sense something was off, as if Gordon was hiding something. Thinking back to the night Gordon confronted Spencer, Henry remembered how shaken up Gordon was when he left. He remembered Gordon revealing how he was still afraid of Spencer. Something about the way he was acting now gave Henry a sinking feeling. “Gordon,” Henry said hesitantly, “does Spencer still-... Is there… something going on between you two?”

Gordon was silent.

Henry opened his mouth to speak again, but a voice cut him off and made him jump in surprise.

“Excuse me,” Mavis cut in apologetically, “Scot wants to see you, Gordon. He’s in his office.”

Without another word, or even a glance at Henry, Gordon stood up and followed Mavis inside.

-

Closing the door to Scot’s office behind him, Gordon saw Scot waiting for him at his desk. Gordon stared at him suspiciously. “Any reason for the impromptu one-on-one?” he asked.

Scot watched Gordon as he sat down in one of the armchairs facing his desk. “I need you to be completely honest with me,” Scot said, his expression unreadable.

Hesitantly, Gordon nodded.

“Is there something going on between you and Henry?”

Gordon’s heart stopped. He knew he should tell Scot the truth, as was expected of him, but what would come from telling him? Would something happen to Henry? Would Scot tell Spencer? _’No, he wouldn’t,’_ Gordon thought, _‘he doesn’t want me dead… does he?’_

When Gordon was silent, Scot leaned back in his chair and sighed. “Look,” he said, “whatever your answer is, nothing is going to happen. I just need to know.”

 _’Fuck it,’_ Gordon thought. “Yes,” he said shakily.

Scot’s eyebrows raised in surprise, though he didn’t seem too fazed by Gordon’s answer. “Interesting,” he mused.

Gordon quirked a brow at Scot’s reaction, “Why do you need to know?”

“So I can warn you against it,” Scot answered, giving Gordon a well-meaning smile, “I’m not saying I’m opposed to you two doing whatever it is you’re doing, but I’m not exactly for it either.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?”

“It means,” Scot stood up, walking over to the large window overlooking the garden, “I think you and Henry are a much better match than Henry and Spencer, and I’d love to see you two end up together. However, I think the idea of you pursuing a relationship with Henry is an incredibly stupid idea, and possibly a dangerous one.”

Gordon scoffed, “As if I’m not already aware.”

“You say that,” Scot chuckled, watching Henry through the window as he worked in the garden, “and yet you went ahead and pursued Henry anyway. Not the smartest thing you’ve done, but I understand.”

Gordon groaned in frustration, leaning against the arm of the chair and propping his head up with his hand. “Is that all I’m here for? So you can have me sit and listen to you tell me how stupid I am? Because, again, you say all of that as if I’m not already aware.”

Scot turned away from the window to look back at Gordon, “No, I called you in here to talk to you about this. You’ve made it clear that you’re aware of the risks, should you continue to see Henry like this, but have you even once considered that you’re putting Henry’s safety on the line by doing this?” Scot asked, walking back over to his desk and sitting down, “If Spencer catches on to you two, he’ll be angry with you both, but who do you think will get the brunt of his anger? He’s going to go after the one who won’t give him a challenge. You can fight back. Henry can’t.”

Gordon crossed his arms defiantly, “Henry could fight back.”

“But would he?”

Gordon opened his mouth to reply, but quickly shut it. _’Damn biological instincts…’_ he thought bitterly.

“Exactly,” Scot continued, “he wouldn’t fight back. Unfortunately, we’re all slaves to our instincts, to an extent. For an Omega to physically fight back against their Alpha would take almost all of their strength and willpower. The only cases I’ve seen an Omega turn on their Alpha was in a matter of life or death, and even then they’re just the lucky ones who were successful. So many Omegas are lost to domestic violence because they just can’t bring themselves to hurt their Alphas. It’s unfair, but that’s how the world works. Worst case scenario, if Spencer found out about the two of you and decided to kill Henry-”

“I get it,” Gordon interjected, “I understand what you’re trying to say. Is there a point to all of this?”

“Yes, actually. I have a suggestion for you, if you’re serious about all of this. But first I want to ask you something. Again, I expect complete honesty from you.”

Gordon nodded, “Go ahead.”

Scot smiled, “Why Henry?”

“Oh, come on…” Gordon groaned, rolling his eyes.

“I’m serious,” Scot said with a laugh, “I’m just curious what it is about Henry that caught your attention. He’s attractive, I’ll give him that, but I wouldn’t have thought you’d risk so much for just a pretty face. Tell me, why are you doing all of this for Henry?”

Shifting in his chair, Gordon thought for a moment. “Well, I… I care about him. Ever since we first met, when I ran into him, I just… Something inside me told me to protect him. I remember smelling Spencer on him and feeling this sense of…” Gordon gestured vaguely, “I don’t even know, it was- I felt like- I felt rage? The idea of Spencer being all over Henry, this frightened looking Omega I’d just met, somehow that made me almost lose my mind. At first I thought I was only attracted to Henry and was just jealous that he was with Spencer, but after we talked, I felt… I felt a real connection. I really cared about him. Knowing what an absolute prick Spencer was just made it worse, and what I was most afraid of happening was suddenly a reality, a-and I saw him with those bruises, and-”

Scot held up a hand to silence Gordon. “Okay, I think you’ve made your point. You don’t just want to sleep with him.”

Gordon sighed, “So, what was your suggestion?”

Scot’s expression turned serious, “If you really, truly want to be with Henry, you’re going to have to get away from Spencer. I’m prepared to give you the funds to start a life with Henry in a secluded house somewhere Spencer won’t be able to find you. You have quite a share of money Dad left to you in his will that you haven’t even touched, but if needed, I’ll pay for whatever the two of you will need. Of course, with you gone for who knows how long, I’d have to take on Spencer as a business partner instead of you, and I don’t think either of us would be thrilled with that course of action. But, if you really think Henry is worth it, I can take working with Spencer. He wouldn’t be a bad fit, honestly.”

Gordon stared at Scot in disbelief, “Wait a minute, you mean-? Scot, I couldn’t just leave you like that. What if Spencer found out you were involved with this? Plus, you’re… you’re the only family I have left, I can’t just-”

“Oh, don’t be so melodramatic. I can deal with Spencer, and our separation would only be temporary, maybe a few years at most. You’ll be fine.”

“Years?” Gordon gawked.

Scot shrugged, “I said at most. Besides, once you have Henry and you two are safe and alone, you won’t care. Trust me. You’ll have all the company you need.”

Gordon shook his head, “This isn’t about me feeling lonely, Scot.”

“What other option do you have, Gordon? You could try snatching Henry away from Spencer and then practically dangle Henry in front of him tauntingly by continuing to live here, but do you really want to try that? We also have no idea when Spencer is planning to officially mark Henry to claim him as his own. He could do it tonight, and everything we’re talking about would be moot.”

Gordon stared at Scot defiantly, “I don’t care, your plan is out of the question.”

With a sigh, Scot hung his head in defeat, “Understandable, I knew it was a bit of a stretch.” Scot looked up and smiled sadly, “I’m touched you don’t want to leave me, but I want you to be happy, Gordon. I’d do just about anything to see you living a content life. You deserve to feel the happiness that comes with finding the right Omega and spending your life with them. I really wish there was a way I could help you.”

Gordon didn’t respond, staring off in thought. “While we’re on the subject… I’ve never really talked to you about Thomas. You sort of just brought him home one day. He’s been here for almost a year now and I still don’t know the whole story.”

“I did, didn’t I?” Scot laughed awkwardly, “Well, if you must know, I guess I felt the same way you feel about Henry. I hadn’t known Thomas too long before I felt incredibly protective of him. In addition, he made me laugh like no other Omega had, and I appreciated that. He made me loosen up a little, and you and I both know I needed that.”

Gordon didn’t comment.

Scot continued, “It was rather rushed, but it didn’t take us long to realize how compatible we were, and that we wanted to be together. I can’t imagine being this happy with anyone else. Wouldn’t you say the same?”

After a beat, Gordon nodded.

-

For the next few days, Henry didn’t even see Gordon once. He didn’t join him in the garden, they didn’t run into each other in the hallways, not a sign of him. Henry would sometimes hear Gordon’s voice through a door or echoing through the halls, but he figured if Gordon wasn’t making an effort to see him, he wanted to be left alone.

Henry couldn’t shake the sick feeling he got when he replayed their last conversation in his mind. The fact that Gordon never gave him a clear answer didn’t sit well with Henry. He needed to know if his assumption was correct, but he couldn’t just confront Gordon about it.

Hery spent most of his time working in the garden to distract himself from thoughts of Gordon, and seeing color start to spread across the once expanse of dead foliage made Henry proud. 

Hours passed before Henry’s attention was taken from his gardening by a presence behind him. Turning around, Henry smiled when he saw Douglas standing a couple feet away. His smile faded, however, when he saw the worried look on Douglas’ face. “Everything alright?” Henry asked.

“Spencer wants tae speak with ye… urgently.”

-

With a soft knock, followed by a muffled “enter,” Henry slowly pushed open the door to Spencer’s office.

Spencer watched Henry intently as he shut the door behind him. Not wanting to go near Spencer, Henry moved to stand by the fireplace, making motions like he was warming his hands. He turned so he was facing away from Spencer, but not enough that his back was towards him. He wanted to be able to watch the Alpha out of the corner of his eye. “You wanted to see me?”

“Yes,” Spencer said, “I wanted to ask you how you’re enjoying your time here so far?”

It was an innocent enough question, Henry supposed. “Fine,” he said, not wanting to elaborate any further.

“Seems like you’ve made friends with the people here, yes?”

The sing-song lightheartedness of Spencer’s tone nearly set off Henry’s fight or flight response. “I guess so, I haven’t really talked with anyone other than Daisy and Mavis. And you, of course. And…” Henry paused, “Gordon, a little bit here and there.”

Spencer twirled a pen between his fingers absentmindedly as he continued. “Scot says I’m looking into this too much, but…” he slammed the pen down on the desk, making Henry jump, “I think I’m going to trust my gut. And right now, my gut is telling me that there’s something going on…” Spencer looked up at Henry threateningly, “...between you and Gordon.”

Henry could feel his heart in his throat. He tried his best to seem surprised, but not too surprised as to arouse Spencer’s suspicions. Just mildly shocked would do. “What?” He said, willing his voice not to crack in fear. He turned to face Spencer’s direction as the Alpha got up and started walking towards him. “I talk to him, sure, but-”

“I thought I told you to stay away from him?” Spencer’s voice was far too pleasant to match the words he was saying, and it made Henry fidget uncomfortably where he stood. “So why would you continue to talk to him after your Alpha told you not to?”

Anger bubbled up inside of Henry as soon as the words ‘your Alpha’ came out of Spencer’s mouth, but he tried to remain calm. He made himself as pitiful as he could, hoping it would throw Spencer off like it did when he got upset about Henry’s collar. “I know you told me he couldn’t be trusted,” Henry said quietly, “but so far he hasn’t done anything wrong. If he did, I would have told you, and I wouldn’t be spending time with him. I enjoy his company. I don’t want to shut him out when he hasn’t done anything wrong.” Henry’s eyes locked with Spencer’s, hoping the Alpha couldn’t detect his lies.

Without warning, Spencer grabbed Henry by the shoulders and slammed him back against the wall. “I don’t give a damn if you think he hasn’t done anything wrong, he will. He’s a lying, manipulative little shit, and he’ll do anything to fuck me over. And I suggest,” Spencer’s hand closed around Henry’s throat threateningly, “that you stop seeing him immediately, if you know what’s good for you. Do I make myself clear?”

Henry tried to speak, but he struggled to get air into his lungs. He clawed at Spencer’s hand, desperately trying to free himself from the Alpha’s strong grasp.

“Answer me!” Spencer roared.

Henry managed a weak nod as his vision started to fade around the edges.

With a scowl, Spencer released Henry, letting him drop down to the floor in a coughing, gasping heap. “No Omega of mine is going to get chummy with that… that _snake_. He doesn’t deserve your company, or your sympathy.”

“What did he ever do to you?!” Henry whined, his voice raspy. “Why do you treat him like this? He’s your _cousin._ ”

Spencer kneeled down in front of Henry so they were at eye level with each other. He leaned in, lowering his voice. “I know he’s my cousin,” he whispered, “but you know something funny? That didn’t stop him from begging me to fuck him when we were just kids.”

Henry stared at Spencer in horror. _’He’s wrong, that’s not what- Why is he even telling me this…?’_ The fact that Spencer was imparting this information to him made Henry incredibly suspicious. Of course Spencer was twisting it to make himself look innocent…

Wasn’t he?

Spencer continued, “Ever since we were kids he’s been a freak. Never once took interest in an Omega, but was totally fine fooling around with me. He’s been obsessed with me for years. I’ll bet he’s only getting close to you in order to get rid of you, so he can have me for himself. He doesn’t give a shit about you. He doesn’t give a shit about anyone if they get in the way of what he wants. You’d best remember that.” Giving Henry a not so gentle pat on the cheek, Spencer stood and walked across the room, pulling a bottle of vodka from his desk drawer and taking a big swig.

Still trying to wrap his mind around what just happened, Henry sat in silence. As much as he wanted to question Spencer’s credibility and tell him Gordon’s version of the story, he couldn’t let Spencer find out Gordon had already told Henry everything. Henry had to let Spencer believe he and Gordon were simply friends. _’If he knows, we’re both dead…’_

However, Henry still felt obligated to call Spencer out. Feeling brave, he spoke up. “You’re wrong,” he said, his voice shaky and weak from nerves.

Spencer glanced over at Henry, setting the bottle down with a loud _thunk_. “What was that?”

“You’re wrong about Gordon. He’s not a freak, and he does give a shit about other people. How can you say all those things about him when you can’t even manage to treat me, or him, with respect. If anyone in this house is a freak who doesn’t give a shit about others, it’s you.”

Almost instantly, Spencer pulled Henry up by the collar and dragged him over to the couch, bending him over the back of it. Spencer pressed his hips against Henry’s ass, essentially pinning him down. “How dare you speak to me like that,” he growled, “I ought to fuck some sense into you right now, make you learn your place and think before pulling a stunt like that ever again.”

Panicking, Henry flailed around, desperately trying to get away. He opened his mouth to scream, but before any sound could come out, Spencer shoved three fingers inside, silencing him. Without thinking, Henry bit down, and Spencer pulled his hand back with a hiss of pain. As Henry prepared to scream for help, he felt himself being pushed forward, landing on the couch and rolling off onto the floor. He scrambled to stand up, but Spencer was on him instantly, holding him down with his body as he slapped Henry’s face over and over again, one after the other.

“Don’t you,” _smack,_ “ever,” _slap,_ “do that,” _thwack,_ “again!” With a final _smack,_ Spencer stood, breathing heavily as he ran a hand through his hair angrily. “What is it going to take to teach you your fucking place? How many times are you going to act up like this? How many times am I going to have to _beat it into you_?!” With a huff, he wiped the blood from his knuckles onto his pants

Even with Spencer nowhere near him, Henry remained curled in a protective ball, fearing another onslaught. Tears mixed with his blood, stinging his wounds as they ran down his face and puddled onto the cold wood floor below him.

“Jesus fuck,” Spencer hissed, taking another swig of vodka. “I don’t understand you. One minute you’re perfect, you sit there and look pretty, you smile and speak politely… Then next thing I know you pull shit like this. You act like such a fucking Beta, if you didn’t get so wet when I fucked you I’d be taking you in for blood tests, it’s like you’re not even an Omega.”

“Gee, it’s almost like I’m a person and not a doll…” Henry mumbled, not caring if Spencer heard or not.

“If you don’t start acting right soon, your days here are numbered. And they won’t be happy days, I can promise you that.”

Henry looked up at Spencer defiantly, using the side of Spencer’s desk to pull himself up. “You can’t threaten me like this,” he said, his legs as shaky as his voice, “you won’t get away with treating me like this.”

“Henry,” Spencer cooed condescendingly, “who’s going to stop me?” He scoffed, “Certainly not you.”

Every instinct in Henry’s body screamed at him to submit to Spencer and stop arguing, but he ignored them. “I-I’ll tell Gordon and Scot, they’ll… they’ll-”

Spencer laughed loudly, “You really think they’re going to take your word over mine? Scot might have a soft spot for you, and Gordon, well… Regardless of how they feel about you, Alphas stick together. When one of their unruly, disobedient Omegas step out of line,” Spencer grabbed Henry by the collar and yanked him closer, lowering his voice to a whisper, “we put them in their fucking place. Do I make myself clear?”

Henry struggled to stand, his legs threatening to give out at any moment. The sight of a furious Alpha towering over him, holding him so tightly filled Henry with the most intense sense of terror he’d felt in a long time. He nodded nervously.

Spencer quirked an eyebrow, “What was that?”

“Y-yes sir,” Henry squeaked.

Spencer scoffed as he shoved Henry away. He watched with a sneer as Henry collapsed on the floor with a yelp. The two locked eyes, neither daring to look away. Spencer did it to assert dominance. Henry did it because he was too afraid to take his eyes off of Spencer for even a moment.

A knock at Spencer’s bedroom door seemed to dispel the thick tension.

Spencer practically growled in annoyance. “What?” he snapped.

Henry’s heart leapt as he recognized Gordon’s muffled voice through the door. “You got a package in the mail, you need to go downstairs and sign for it.”

With an irritated huff, Spencer stormed out of the room, nearly knocking Gordon over as he swung the door open.

Now that Spencer was gone, Henry let his body relax a little, and he pulled himself up to lean against Spencer’s desk. He barely registered the sound of the door shutting as Gordon rushed over to him.

“Oh god, Henry…” Gordon gasped, “what did he do to you?”

Before Henry could formulate words to respond, he broke down, leaning forward and sobbing into Gordon’s chest. The familiar smell of Gordon’s… shampoo? Aftershave? Whatever it was, Henry couldn’t get enough of it. He felt himself start to calm down as he took deep breaths, his sobs dying down into the occasional hiccup.

Gordon held Henry close, wrapping both arms tightly around him and placing a gentle kiss to the top of his head. “I’m so sorry,” Gordon said sadly, “I didn’t mean to ignore you, I just… couldn’t face you.”

Henry looked up at Gordon, cradling his face in his hands. “I need to know, Gordon,” he begged. “I need to know what he’s doing to you. If he’s hurting you, I’ll…” Henry trailed off. He knew he couldn’t do much, but if Spencer was mistreating Gordon, he wasn’t going to get away with it. “I’ll be petty. I’ll start pretending to be sick so he can’t have sex with me. I’ll pour salt in his coffee. I’ll-”

“Henry,” Gordon laughed, “you can’t do stuff like that, he’ll just…” he paused, sighing in defeat, “Spencer’s just going to keep treating you like this no matter what you do, so you might as well just lay low and do what he wants. It’s easier that way.”

“Stop saying things like that,” Henry said, a lump forming in his throat, “I need you to give me an answer. What is Spencer doing to you?”

Silence.

“Please, just tell me,” Henry whispered, looking into Gordon’s eyes pleadingly. He gave Gordon a gentle kiss. “Please.”

Gordon struggled to form words. He’d start to speak, then stop himself, unsure of what to say. “Henry, I-”

The sound of footsteps echoing out in the hallway made Gordon’s head snap up, looking towards the door in a panic. He looked back at Henry with fear in his eyes. “I need to get out of here,” he whispered. “Come to my room this evening, we can talk more then.”

Henry nodded, and with one last quick kiss, he watched as Gordon rushed out of the room.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings for this chapter: Rape, mentions of physical abuse.

That evening, as instructed, Henry stood outside Gordon’s bedroom and knocked on the door quietly. When Gordon opened the door, the two gave a quick glance both ways to make sure the coast was clear before Gordon ushered Henry inside, closing and locking the door behind them.

Henry looked around at the sea of blue that Gordon’s room was decorated in. Not as monochromatic as Spencer’s room, but nevertheless, very blue. A picture sitting on Gordon’s shelf caught Henry’s eyes. “Is this your family?” he asked.

Looking over Henry’s shoulder, Gordon smiled. “Yes, that’s them. That picture must be almost twenty years old now.”

Henry studied the photo, “Geez, your family is huge.”

“Yeah, and that’s just my siblings. My cousins aren’t even in that picture.”

Henry’s jaw dropped. “You’re telling me that you had…” Henry quickly estimated the number of children in the photo, “ _over twenty siblings?!_ ”

Gordon nodded. “Large litters of pups run in the family.”

“Woah…” Henry gasped, looking back at the photograph. “Which one are you?”

Gordon reached out and pointed to the bottom left corner. “Right there,” he laughed, “the one with the dark hair.”

Henry smiled. He’d never even thought about what color Gordon’s hair naturally was. Glancing at the their children in the picture, they all had some shade of brown hair, but Gordon’s was by far the darkest. “How old were you?”

“I must’ve been…” Gordon thought for a moment, “about six or seven. This was taken about a year before I lost them.”

“Lost them?”

There was a pause before Gordon spoke. “When I was eight years old, some people broke into our house and killed almost everybody inside. Scot and I were the only survivors.”

Henry’s heart sunk. “Oh,” he said quietly, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked…”

“It’s okay,” Gordon said, walking over to his bed and sitting on the edge. “Talking about it is fine, I’m over it. I mean, as over it as I can be. Sometimes it hurts, but it’s been nearly twenty years, and it’s not like there’s anything anyone can do to bring them back.”

With a smile, Henry walked over and sat down beside Gordon, “I understand. I also don’t mind talking about the stuff that’s happened to me. I sort of enjoy talking about it, especially knowing I can do so without getting emotional about it. It means I’m healing, and that’s a good thing.”

Gordon sighed, “Speaking of talking about things… You’re here because I promised you an answer.”

“Yes,” Henry said, his tone turning serious, “I know you probably don’t want to talk about this, but I need you to understand how important this is.”

Gordon looked away sadly. “It’s not that I don’t want to talk about it, I just… don’t like feeling so vulnerable. For so long I’ve ignored what he’s done to me, to acknowledge it now… it’s a lot to take in.”

“I know,” Henry said, taking Gordon’s hands and holding them tightly in his own, “and I want to be here for you. You’ve been there for me ever since I was brought here, now it’s time for me to return the favor. If Spencer thinks he can get away with hurting my Alpha-”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Henry realized his mistake. 

“I-I, I didn’t-” Henry stammered, his face beet red, “That sort of just, uh, it just came out, I-I’m so sorry-”

Gordon leaned in and silenced Henry with a kiss. “Don’t be,” he whispered when they separated, “I could get used to that.” Leaning in, he brought their lips together again, cradling the back of Henry’s head and pulling him closer.

Just as things started to get heated, a sudden knock on the door startled them, causing them to break the kiss with a jump.

“Gordon, are you in there? I need to speak with you. Now.”

They looked at each other in silent horror when they recognized the voice as Spencer’s.

“Just a minute,” Gordon called out. Panicking, he practically pushed Henry off the bed, motioning for him to get into the closet across the room. Quickly shoving Henry inside and giving him one last apologetic look, Gordon shut the door, leaving it open just a crack to give Henry some air.

Through the narrow gap, Henry watched as Gordon crossed the room and opened the door. “What is it?” Gordon deadpanned, keeping his voice steady to hide how nervous he was.

Spencer scowled, “I know what you’re up to, and if you know what’s good for you you’ll stop it at once.”

As Spencer took a step forward to enter the room, Gordon shifted to block him. “I have literally no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, really?” Spencer laughed harshly stepping closer to Gordon, “Don’t play dumb, I see right through your little act. You’ve been spending time with my Omega. Alpha’s don’t just hang around Omegas without a motive, and I know exactly what your motive is.”

“My motive?” Gordon scoffed, taking a step back to keep distance between he and Spencer, “And what would that be?”

Spencer took the opportunity and weaseled his way past Gordon and into his room, shutting the door behind him as he continued, “The same motive you’ve had for years… dominance.”

As Spencer slowly approached him, Gordon kept backing away. But with each step backwards, Spencer took two steps forward, until he had Gordon’s trapped against the wall.

Spencer slammed his hands against the wall on either side of Gordon’s head. “But you’re forgetting one little crucial detail,” he hissed, “I will always dominate you, in every aspect of life. I’ve got an Omega, I’ve got a promising career, and most importantly…”

Gordon yelped as Spencer reached down and roughly fondled his crotch. “W-wait, no-”

“I’ve got _you,_ ” Spencer snarled.

“Stop, please- _nhn,_ ” Gordon begged, trying desperately to push Spencer away. No matter how he tried to will himself not to, he could feel himself growing hard from Spencer’s touch. Gordon bit his lip as Spencer continued to feel him up and pin him against the wall with his body.

Spencer leaned in, his breath ghosting over Gordon’s ear. “No matter how hard you try, no matter what you do, you’re always going to be my _bitch._ ”

Gordon felt a wave of shame was over him as he thought about Henry, trapped in his closet and forced to witness what was happening. He gasped as Spencer pulled him away from the wall and shoved him onto the bed, pinning him down and practically ripping his clothes off. Unable to hold back his tears, Gordon sobbed and pleaded with Spencer. “Please,” he whined, “don’t do this, please-” Gordon let out a strangled cry as he felt Spencer’s erection shoved roughly inside him.

Henry had seen enough. He turned away from the door, covering his mouth to suppress his disturbed sobs. He could still hear everything: Gordon struggling, his cries muted with Spencer’s hand, the sound of Spencer’s grunts and heavy breathing… Henry tried to ignore it all, but no matter how hard he willed himself to tune it out, he couldn’t. He silently begged it would all be over soon.

“No wonder you don’t have an Omega,” Spencer grunted, ignoring Gordon’s frantic muffled shouts. He thrusted in and out of Gordon at a strong, steady pace. “I’ll bet they can all practically smell what a cockslut you are, and what Omega wants an Alpha who’s a slut for another stronger Alpha?”

Gordon tried to ignore Spencer’s words, but… he couldn’t help but believe him. He thought about Henry, how Henry now knew the truth about the way Spencer treated him. What would Henry think? Would he still feel the same now that he knew Gordon was as helpless against Spencer as Henry was? How was he supposed to protect Henry if he couldn’t even protect himself?

Gordon was distracted from his thoughts by Spencer’s hand on his dick, stroking it in long, rough motions. Between the cock in his ass and Spencer jerking him off, Gordon’s stomach twisted as he felt heat building in his lower abdomen. His hips bucked against his will, his moans growing louder as his orgasm grew closer.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Spencer sneered, “come for me, just like you always do.”

Even as he tried to fight it, Gordon’s body succumbed to his orgasm. With a strangled cry, he threw his head back as his orgasm ripped through him. Not long after, he felt Spencer come as well. Silent tears streamed down Gordon’s cheeks as Spencer buried his cock as deep inside Gordon as he could, draining himself of seed.

Without warning, Spencer pulled himself out, even with his knot still swollen, ignoring Gordon’s pained scream and tucking himself back into his pants. He grabbed Gordon by the hair, forcing him to look up and meet his eyes. “Stay away from Henry.”

Without waiting for a response, he left.

Henry listened until he heard footsteps trail off before tiptoeing out of the closet. He found Gordon crouched on the floor beside his bed, his shoulders shaking as silent sobs racked his body. Henry kneeled down and gently laid a hand on Gordon’s back comfortingly, pressing a soft kiss to his shoulder. “I’m sorry,” Henry said, barely above a whisper. “I’m so sorry…”

“You should go,” Gordon said quietly, his voice hoarse. “Spencer’s going to be looking for you.”

Henry shook his head. “I won’t leave you here, not after-”

Gordon turned to face Henry, tears trailing down his cheeks. “If you don’t get out of here soon you’re going to get caught, now go!”

Henry nodded solemnly, giving Gordon’s hand a gentle kiss before he stood up and left.

-

A week passed, and Henry neither heard nor saw Gordon. While he understood why Gordon was avoiding him, as he did the same thing the previous week when Henry had asked him about Spencer, he still wished he could at least see Gordon and know he was doing okay.

Each time Spencer tried to initiate sex, Henry would feign a headache, a fever, a backache, whatever it took for Spencer to give up and leave him alone. Henry couldn’t even imagine sleeping with Spencer, not after what he did to Gordon… Henry didn’t think he could ever look at Spencer the same way again.

With every passing day Henry found himself craving Gordon’s presence. He couldn’t eat, he couldn’t sleep, even worse, on multiple occasions Henry grew physically ill. At first Henry was concerned over his condition, but he figured it would go away eventually. It did aid him in giving Spencer reason to stay away from him, so he wasn’t about to complain.

However, after waking up in the middle of the night and vomiting for nearly an hour and a half for the fourth night in a row, Henry had a feeling he should get checked out. _’Daisy knows about medical stuff,’_ Henry remembered, _’I’ll ask her tomorrow.’_

-

After begging Daisy to look into his illness and making her swear to keep it a secret, Henry sat in a plain, sterile, eggshell colored room in the basement while Daisy ran some tests. She checked Henry’s blood pressure, temperature, reflexes, and even took a blood sample just to be thorough. Henry sat and waited for what must’ve been an eternity before Daisy came back with the results, looking at a sheet of paper with a sly smile on her face. “How long have you been feeling sick, Henry?”

Henry mulled it over for a moment. “Only about a couple of days.”

“How long has it been since your heat ended?”

“A little over a week,” Henry said, looking at Daisy apprehensively. “Why?”

Daisy showed him the paper in her hands. It was covered in all kinds of medical jargon and random numbers henry didn’t understand. Looking to where Daisy was pointing, he saw a red plus. “Do you know what this means?” Daisy said excitedly.

Henry shook his head.

With a squeal, Daisy pulled Henry into a tight hug. “You’re pregnant!”

-

Going so long without so much as seeing Henry had made Gordon miserable. He lost count of how many times he’d had the powerful urge to find him and just make sure he was okay, even if it was only for a few moments. Anything was better than nothing. It took all of Gordon’s willpower to resist the temptation, remembering Spencer’s parting words. He didn’t know why, but this time, when Spencer had threatened him to stay away from Henry, it stuck. Every other time he’d heard Spencer say the same thing Gordon had been able to brush it off, but this time felt different.

Spencer had made it a threat.

Even worse, Gordon had a sinking feeling that Spencer wasn’t threatening to hurt him. He was threatening to do something to _Henry._ Knowing Spencer, Gordon wouldn’t put it past him to use Henry as a way to get what he wanted. _’Wouldn’t be the first time Spencer’s used some else’s well being as leverage…’_

Gordon wanted to talk to Scot about this, he wanted to tell him everything that had happened, but he couldn’t tell Scot _everything,_ not yet. _’Maybe eventually,’_ Gordon thought.

-

The floor seemed to sway beneath Henry, and he held onto the edge of his seat to brace himself. Pregnant? No, he couldn’t be- well, he definitely _could_ be, considering the… activities, he participated in recently, but…

_Pregnant._

“Pregnant…?” Henry whispered.

Daisy nodded with a smile. “Pregnant.”

A million thoughts rushed through Henry’s mind at once, but the one that stuck out the most was:

Who was the father?

Henry knew the pups were most likely Gordon’s, but he slept with Spencer during his heat too, even if it was on the last day. There was still a small chance they were Spencer’s. Henry didn’t know which scenario would be worse. On the one hand, if the pups were Gordon’s, Henry would be thrilled, though there would be some unpleasant consequences should anyone else find out. On the other hand, if the pups were Spencer’s, not only would his chances of escaping Spencer be nearly nonexistent, his chances of pursuing a relationship with Gordon wouldn’t be great either.

With a sinking feeling, Henry realized that either way, he was screwed. Pups being separated from even one of their parents could cause unpleasant long term effects, so he needed to find out who the father was, and quickly.

“Daisy,” Henry said nervously, looking down at his lap, “I’m about to tell you something, and you can’t tell anyone else, under any circumstances, okay? If this gets out, I’m screwed.”

“Is it that Gordon might be the father?”

“I think Gordon might be the-” Henry looked up. “How did you…?”

Daisy smirked knowingly. “Henry darling, don’t take this the wrong way, but everyone knows you and Gordon are a thing,” she chuckled, “You two had more chemistry within two days than you and Spencer will ever have in your entire lives. If anyone ever saw something suspicious between you two, and we definitely have, we weren’t about to say anything about it.”

Henry could feel his face turn red in embarrassment.

Daisy continued, “Frankly, I’m not surprised you don’t know who the father is. But you need to find out soon.”

“I know,” Henry said sadly, “there’s a lot at risk.”

Daisy hummed in thought, looking back down at the paper in her hands. “I have an idea,” she said, sitting in a desk chair and rolling back over to Henry. “You want to keep this a secret for now, right?”

Henry nodded.

“Tell Gordon that I need him to come to me for a blood test. He’s less likely to ask questions than Spencer, and if he asks you what it’s about, just tell him you don’t know, that I only sent you as a messenger to get him for me.”

“That… might actually work, I’ll tell him next time I see him. Thank you. I’ll find some way to repay you for helping me like this, I promise.”

“Don’t mention it,” Daisy said, leaning back in her chair, “I’m a simple woman. I live for drama, I got to enjoy watching all of this unfold from afar, and now I’m finally involved. That’s all the reward I could ask for.”

As Henry laughed, another thought struck him. “Wait… should I tell Spencer I’m pregnant? Do you think that would make him suspicious, or would not telling him be worse?” For some reason, the idea of Spencer knowing about the pups made Henry nervous, regardless of whether they were his or Gordon’s.

“I think you should tell him soon.” Daisy glanced down at the nearly healed bruises on Henry’s wrists. “Maybe he’ll go a little easy on you if he thinks you’re carrying his children.”

Henry rubbed his wrists self consciously. “Hopefully…”

-

“Pregnant?” Edward gawked.

“Pregnant,” Henry repeated.

The two sat out in the garden, despite the chilly fall breeze making them shiver. Edward came over as soon as he could when he got Henry’s distressed call, but nothing could have prepared him for the news Henry had given him. “Wow…” he said, still trying to process all Henry had told him. “You really don’t know who the father is?”

Henry shook his head, tired of speaking after spending the past hour and a half telling Edward nearly every detail of what happened between he and Gordon, as well as between he and Spencer.

Edward stroked his chin in thought. “Well, that’s… certainly a problem,” he said with a forced chuckle.

“Tell me about it,” Henry said under his breath.

“So, are you going to tell Spencer?”

“Well, what else can I do?” Henry shrugged, “It’s not like I can hide this forever. Besides, like Daisy said, if Spencer thinks I’m pregnant with his children, maybe he’ll, you know… ease up a little.”

Edward’s brow furrowed, “It shouldn’t take you being pregnant for him to realize he shouldn’t treat you like he’s been treating you.”

Henry hummed in agreement.

With a soft smile, Edward took Henry’s hands in his own. “Circumstances aside, you’re _pregnant._ I can’t believe the little Omega I took in all those years ago is all grown up and having kids of his own. We should be celebrating, not moping around!”

A smile crept onto Henry’s face. “I wasn’t _that_ little…”

“Oh, yes you were,” Edward nudged Henry playfully. “The tender age of sixteen, I believe.”

“Fine, I was young. But I was still taller than you.”

Edward clutched at his heart. “Oh, you wound me,” he said dramatically.

Laughing, Henry pulled Edward into a warm hug. “Thank you, by the way. I really appreciate you coming over on such short notice, I was sort of freaking out and needed someone to talk to.”

“I’m always here for you, anytime you need me, you call and I’ll be right over. Don’t you ever forget that.” Edward smiled, rubbing Henry’s back soothingly. He pulled back and glanced down at his phone to check the time. “I hate to cut this short, but I should be heading home.”

“It’s fine, I totally understand. I’ll walk you to the door.” Henry said, standing up and leading Edward inside.

Just as they were approaching the front door, it opened, and Gordon stepped inside. Henry’s heart beat frantically, it had been more than a week since he had last seen Gordon, and running into him so suddenly caught Henry completely off guard.

Gordon was just as surprised to see Henry. His eyes darted away as soon as they met Henry’s, and he instead focused on Edward. “Well well, who’s this?”

Henry cleared his throat awkwardly. “This is Edward. Edward, this is Gordon.”

Edward reached out and shook Gordon’s hand. “My goodness,” he said, “you’re definitely an Alpha, aren’t you?”

“I am.”

“I thought so,” Edward chuckled, “you’ve got quite a presence, one of the strongest I’ve ever encountered, in fact.”

As much as he wanted to agree, Henry figured it would be best not to comment.

Gordon laughed, “So I’ve been told. I guess it just runs in my family.”

“Good genes will do that.” Edward looked over to Henry and smirked, stifling a laugh as Henry quickly became flustered. “Well, it was very nice to meet you Gordon, hopefully I’ll be seeing you soon.” With a wave goodbye, Edward stepped outside and shut the door.

Awkward silence surrounded Henry and Gordon as they stood awkwardly. Gordon looked like he was about to say something, and Henry waited, but without saying a word Gordon walked away.

The fact that Gordon had barely acknowledged him made Henry’s heart ache. He didn’t have a clue why Gordon was avoiding him, and at this point he was prepared to confront Gordon about it. Henry didn’t know why, but he suddenly felt incredibly angry about everything that was happening. He wanted nothing more than to go up to Gordon and demand an answer, anything to get the Alpha to stop ignoring him. At the same time, Henry had never felt so defeated and hopeless in his life. What if Gordon didn’t have feelings for him anymore? What if Gordon _never_ had feelings in the first place? The thought made Henry want to curl up in a corner and cry and…

Henry sighed. _’I guess those pregnancy hormones are starting to kick in already...’_


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings for this chapter: Nothing too intense, some possessive behavior/talk from Spencer but it's very mild and pretty much expected at this point. Very brief vague reference to an assault that occurred in the previous chapter.

For days Henry tried to work up the courage to tell Spencer about the pregnancy, but every time he saw the Alpha’s face, Henry was overcome with feelings of disgust, hatred, and most of all, fear. _’He doesn’t deserve to have pups,’_ Henry thought resentfully. After failing every attempt to talk to Spencer, Henry decided to wait until he couldn’t hide it any longer, that at least bought him a little time to figure out who the pups’ father was.

Henry began to see Daisy once a week for routine checkups. She prescribed him some medication to help ease his symptoms, both for Henry’s sake and for the sake of hiding his condition from everyone. “However, they won’t help with your hormonal changes,” Daisy warned. “Once you start getting urges to do typical pregnant Omega stuff, like getting anxious around other Alphas and craving the father’s scent and touch, you’re going to have to power through it. Nothing I have can suppress those things.”

Henry’s face paled, “How long until that happens?”

“Hard to say,” Daisy tapped her chin in thought, “it could be anywhere from one month to three months. So, worst case scenario you start getting symptoms one month in, that still gives you almost two weeks.”

Hesitantly, Henry shook his head.

Daisy sighed. “I’m not saying I don’t understand, but you should really tell him soon. How bad could his reaction be?”

-

Henry shivered as cold air bit at his skin. He found himself sitting in his usual spot in the garden before he even knew where he was going. Worrying thoughts about the pregnancy swirled in his mind, as well as thoughts about Spencer and Gordon. Even if it was cold, being in the garden helped Henry to calm down. Plus, it gave him the quiet privacy he needed to think things through.

He knew he had to tell Spencer, he’d been trying for over a week now, but going through with it was easier said than done. Part of Henry wished Spencer would leave on a business trip and not come back until the pups were born, but he knew that wasn’t going to happen. With a defeated sigh, Henry set a goal to tell Spencer that night. When and how the news spread to everyone else in the house wasn’t a concern for Henry, except when it came to Gordon.

The fact that Gordon could be the father made the situation much more difficult. Henry hadn’t the slightest clue what Gordon’s reaction would be if the pups ended up being his, as well as what the two of them would do about it. In the darkest corner of Henry’s mind, he imagined a scenario where they would leave the house, finding a place of their own to raise their children, far away from Spencer, but he didn’t dare entertain those thoughts. They couldn’t just leave, things wouldn’t be that easy. _’Spencer wouldn’t make it that easy…’_ Still, the thought of getting to spend his life with Gordon, an Alpha who cared for him and made him feel safe, it filled Henry with a sort of giddy feeling. He’d give anything to make that happen.

“You should really wear more than a sweater out here,” a sudden voice said, startling Henry out of his thoughts.

Looking up, Henry saw Gordon standing in front of him. With a soft smile, he motioned for Gordon to sit down.

Gordon’s face was unreadable as he sat beside Henry, keeping a good amount of distance between them. He shoved his hands in his coat pockets with a shiver.

“Daisy wanted me to tell you she needs to see you for a blood test,” Henry said, turning to Gordon.

Without looking back at him, Gordon’s brow furrowed. “Why would she tell you instead of coming to find me herself?”

 _’Shit.’_ “I’ve been, um, been seeing her a lot lately, since, uh, since I’m sick. She probably thought I’d run into you and could send you to her. And, I mean, here we are…” Henry stammered, hoping Gordon wouldn’t be able to detect his lie.

Gordon gave a short ‘hm’ in reply. “I’ll drop by today then.”

A tense silence filled the air between them.

After a few awkward moments, Gordon took a deep breath. “Look,” he said solemnly, “I’ve been putting this off for a while, but in light of recent events, I think… I think we should stop seeing each other.”

Henry froze. “What do you mean?” he asked, even though he already knew.

There was a long pause before Gordon spoke. He ran a hand through his hair and fidgeted with his sleeve nervously. “I want to be with you, really. You have no idea how much I do. But… I’m not going to keep putting you at risk. If Spencer keeps getting suspicious about the two of us things will only get worse, whether he finds out or not. I can’t bear the thought of something happening to you because of me.”

“You’re not the only one making this decision, Gordon,” Henry said sternly. “I’m choosing to be with you too. Whatever happens to me isn’t your fault.”

Gordon turned to look Henry in the eyes, “Well, I’m going to do what you wanted me to do in the beginning.”

Henry’s heart stopped. _’No…’_

“I’m putting a stop to this, before things get worse and something happens to either of us.”

_’No, please…’_

Gordon gave a heavy sigh. “I don’t regret anything that happened, but I just wish things could have been different. Maybe if the timing had been better…”

_’This can’t be happening, this can’t-’_

“I’m sorry.”

Before Henry knew what he was doing, he felt the words “I’m pregnant!” come out of his mouth.

Gordon stared at Henry in shock. “You’re… pregnant?”

Henry gave a weak ‘mm-hmm’ in response. _’So much for not telling Gordon…’_

“Congratulations, Spencer must be very proud,” Gordon scoffed.

“He doesn’t know,” Henry said worriedly. “I haven’t told him yet. I’ve tried to talk to him for about a week now but I just can’t bring myself to tell him. And…” Henry trailed off, unsure of whether he should say what he wanted to say. He’d already slipped up by telling Gordon about the pups, did he really want to tell him he might be the father?

“And?” Gordon prompted him.

Henry took a deep breath, “And… Spencer might not be very proud, depending on the results of that blood test Daisy’s about to do to you.”

“What does that have to do with-” Gordon’s eyes widened as Henry’s words sunk in. “Oh,” he said softly. The possibility of being the father hadn’t even occurred to him until now.

Watching Gordon for any kind of reaction, Henry felt a lump in his throat. He shouldn’t have said anything, he should have just kept it to himself. Matter of fact, he should have just gone on without knowing who the father was. Gordon and Spencer would have been none the wiser, and the pups would be around both Alphas enough to develop like normal children. Why did he even bother saying anything? Why, _why?_

After a few moments, Gordon cleared his throat to fill the silence. “I should go see Daisy for that test.”

Before Henry could respond, Gordon had already left to go back inside.

-

Now that he told Gordon about the pups, Henry knew he had to tell Spencer. If it somehow got out that Gordon was the first to know, Spencer wouldn’t take that news well. Henry reluctantly made his way to Spencer’s office, knocking on the door softly. A disgruntled “come in,” came through the door, and Henry slowly pushed the door open. Looking around, he saw Spencer sitting at his desk, intently reading a rather large book and typing notes.

“Is now a good time?” Henry’s said weakly, not wanting to disturb Spencer. The his surprise, Spencer motioned for him to come in. Hesitantly, Henry entered, shutting the door and walking over to stand in front of Spencer. Unsure of what to say, he stood awkwardly, fiddling with his sleeves.

“Feeling any better?” Spencer asked curtly, breaking the silence.

Henry’s face flushed in embarrassment. He had a feeling Spencer caught on to him faking his condition early on and assumed he was still lying. “Actually,” he said, “I went to see Daisy about it and she gave me some… interesting news.”

Finally looking up, Spencer’s face actually had a hint of worry in it. “Is everything all right?”

Henry took a deep breath, one hand resting on his stomach with a smile. “I’m pregnant.”

For a brief moment, a look of surprise crossed Spencer’s face, before his brow furrowed. “Are you serious?” he gawked. “Already?”

Henry’s smile fell. “Well, what did you expect? I was in heat, we had sex, that’s literally the entire recipe for getting pregnant.”

“But it was on the last day!”

Henry was beginning to grow irritated. “And?!” he cried, gesturing vaguely, “That still counts!”

Spencer sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Okay, this is fine. We messed up, but that’s okay. I’ll just take you to a clinic and have them removed-”

Henry’s eyes went wide. “What? Why?!”

Spencer looked at Henry as if it were obvious. “I can’t have children _now_ , I need to focus on my job. I need to prove to Scot that I’m a better fit for the job he’s already promised to Gordon. I’ll be damned if I get screwed over due to nepotism. If I have to take care of kids, it’ll be one more reason for Scot to tell me I’m not a good fit.” Running a hand through his hair stressfully, Spencer stood up and began pacing. “There’s no other option. I’ll set up an appointment with Doctor Ten, I’ve heard he’s got the tools for doing these things quickly and discreetly. Hopefully he’s got an opening within the next few days…” Spencer trailed off, muttering under his breath.

Henry said nothing. Trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Spencer was so casual about wanting to get rid of what he assumed to be his own children made Henry sick. Sure, Henry was an advocate for Omegas having reproductive freedom to choose whether they had children or not, but having the option thrown out there so casually, as if Spencer expected it, was still unnerving.

“...I’ll take care of them.”

Spencer looked up. “What?”

Taking a deep breath, Henry chose his words carefully. “If you let me keep them, I’ll take care of them. I won’t ask you to do much, if I need help I know a Beta who loves children that would happily lend me a hand. You can focus on work, and I can keep these pups. We both get what we want.”

Spencer thought it over for a moment.

“Isn’t it an Omega’s job to raise the children, anyway?” Henry said flatly.

Spencer chuckled, “I know you’re being sarcastic. Like you’d just give up and become a house-Omega that easily.”

Henry’s lips pressed together in a tight line, and he scowled at Spencer.

“Your offer is tempting though,” Spencer mused, “I’ll give you that.”

Even if Spencer wanted to get rid of the pups, Henry wouldn’t let it happen. He’d fight tooth and nail if anyone tried to hurt his babies. Still, he held his breath, waiting for Spencer’s answer.

“I’ll think about it.”

That was all Henry needed to hear. He let out a breath of relief. “Thank you,” he said, “I promise it’ll be worth it.”

With a grunt, Spencer sat down and went back to reading.

Despite how much he wanted to leave, Henry felt a strange urge to pry a little into Spencer’s mind. “Do you not want children?” he asked, sitting on the edge of the desk.

Spencer looked up, “Of course I want them, I just don’t want them now.”

“Fair,” Henry nodded, “but why didn’t you use some form of birth control?”

“Why didn’t you?”

 _’Shit, he has a point,’_ Henry thought. “I… I didn’t think you’d let me. I figured you’d want me pregnant as soon as possible. Isn’t that what you want an Omega for?”

Leaning back in his chair, Spencer thought for a moment. “You’re right,” he admitted reluctantly, “I should have been more careful. I didn’t think you’d be that fertile on the last day of your heat, to be honest. There’s a lot I need to learn, I suppose.”

Henry was never going to get used to hearing Spencer apologizing. It left a weird feeling every time he heard it.

Spencer continued, “Now that you mention it, I should look into getting you a prescription for birth control. I’ll have to see what’s the most effective.”

Henry nodded, for once approving of something Spencer wanted to do for him. “So, I think there’s several things we should talk about,” Henry glanced down at the work spread out on the desk in front of Spencer, “if you have time, that is.”

Surprisingly, Spencer stood up with a smile. “Of course I have time, I’ll always make time for my Omega,” he said, lifting Henry into his arms and carrying him over to the couch.

Henry giggled as Spencer sat down, pulling Henry into his lap. The fireplace beside them cast an orange glow, illuminating Spencer’s face in a soft light. Spencer smiled at him, and in that moment, Henry almost thought the Alpha looked attractive. However, just as Henry found himself smiling back, everything Spencer did to Gordon flashed through his mind. His smile immediately faded, and his eyes darted away, not wanting to look at Spencer longer than he needed to.

Spencer didn’t notice, and took Henry’s hand in his own. “Now, what did you want to talk about?”

Clearing his throat, Henry spoke. “What exactly is your plan for the future? I mean, with me?”

Spencer mulled it over for a moment. “As of right now I’m prepared to mark you as my Omega soon. I didn’t want to rush into it, I was hoping to start plans for the wedding soon-”

“A wedding?” Henry said in confusion, “Those fell out of practice decades ago.”

Spencer chuckled, “I know it’s a little old fashioned, but I’ve always been a traditionalist. I just love the idea of a ceremony, making the whole thing into a celebration, you know? What better way to start a life together than to celebrate our union?”

 _’Wow, that’s… kind of sweet,’_ Henry thought, even though the very idea of being legally bound to Spencer terrified him. The prospect of getting claimed and becoming physically, emotionally, and psychologically bound was bad enough.

Spencer kissed Henry’s hand gently. “Besides, I want to show you off to everyone, and what better way than having a lavish, expensive wedding.”

 _’Ah, there it is,’_ Henry thought, trying not to roll his eyes. “And when were you thinking about having this big wedding?” Henry asked, hoping Spencer’s answer would give him enough time to sort everything out with Gordon.

“I was hoping to marry you before having children, but it looks like that’s not going to happen,” Spencer chuckled. “At this point, I think we should wait until after the pups are born.”

Henry nodded in approval. That gave him a about nine months, give or take a week or two, to come up with some kind of plan. He could only hope that would be enough time. Thinking over everything he needed to do, decisions he had to make, Henry could feel his heart beat faster as the weight began to settle on his shoulders. Whatever he chose to do, regarding Spencer, Gordon, these pups… would likely be permanent. Marrying and being claimed by Spencer was very much a permanent decision, as would be escaping Spencer, whether he ended up with Gordon or not. Telling Spencer and Gordon the pups’ true parentage couldn’t be taken back as well. He needed to choose wisely.

As the two sat in comfortable silence, realization struck Henry. “Wait, after the pups- so you’re saying…?”

Spencer nodded, “I guess keeping them wouldn’t hurt.”

For the first time, Henry felt genuinely grateful to Spencer. With an excited squeal, Henry threw his arms around Spencer and buried his face in the Alpha’s chest. “Thank you! Thank you so much!” Henry said, his voice muffled by Spencer’s shirt.

With a chuckle, Spencer stroked Henry’s hair. “I look forward to seeing what beautiful children we make. Gresleys have fantastic genes, you know,” Spencer said proudly. “I hope at least one is blonde, like his father. I’m one of the few remaining blondes in the Gresley family.”

The image of little Spencers running around made Henry cringe. Smiling to himself, Henry instead imagined the pups with dark hair, like Gordon.

-

To take his mind off of everything, Henry spent that evening chatting with some of the servants after dinner.

 _Servant._ Henry hated that word.

Still, he laughed as Donald and Douglas kept trying to outdo each other telling ridiculous personal stories, thankful he was now able to understand their slang and accents from spending many nights listening to their rantings. Mavis offered him a glass of champagne, which he politely declined.

“Ah come on,” Donald joked, “just one little bevvy won’t hurt!”

“Aye, ye haven’t had a drink with us for a while now,” Douglas chimed in. “When’s the baby due?”

As Mavis, Arry and Bert roared with laughter, Henry’s face went pale. He glanced over to Daisy, who shot him a ‘I swear I didn’t tell them’ look.

As the laughter died down, Mavis’ face grew worried. “Surely you’re not…?”

After contemplating for a moment, Henry decided he might as well tell them. “Well, it’s funny you should mention it-”

There was a chorus of excited cheers and shocked gasps before Henry could finish. Mavis pulled Henry into a bear hug as Douglas gave him a congratulatory pat on the back. Henry was overjoyed, this being the first positive reaction to his pregnancy he had received since Daisy herself when she gave him the news.

“Aw, sick,” Donald laughed, scrunching up his nose, “You poor thing, havin’ tae bear the seed of that reprobate. Thoughts and prayers with ye.”

Giving Donald a stern nudge, Mavis tried her best to look optimistic. “Well, we may not care for Spencer much, but still, you’re pregnant! That’s amazing! When do you think they’ll be due?”

“Sometime around late July,” Henry said with a smile.

Mavis squealed with excitement, “Oh, summer babies! I can’t wait to see them!”

“Better hope they look just like you,” Douglas teased.

Henry laughed as Mavis chewed him out for being rude, before noticing that Daisy had gone unusually quiet. Not one sarcastic remark had left her mouth throughout the whole conversation. Glancing over at her, Henry saw she was looking down at her glass, her lips pressed in a tight line. He discreetly nudged her arm to get her attention, mouthing the words “what’s wrong?”

Her expression softened, but there was still a mischievous glint in her eye. She mouthed back, “the test results.”

Instantly, Henry’s stomach dropped.

Finally noticing the exchange between Henry and Daisy, Mavis cleared her throat. “Everything okay? Don’t tell me there’s something wrong with these pups already, Daisy.”

Daisy’s eyes flickered over to Mavis, then back to Henry. “Would you like to tell them?”

Henry’s heart thudded. He nodded. “Might as well tell you guys the even bigger news…”

Everyone looked at Henry expectantly.

“Turns out... Gordon’s the father.”

Painful silence followed. Henry hoped with every fiber of his being that he didn’t just make a mistake in telling everybody this information. His mind drifted to Arry and Bert, who were frequently in contact with the Alphas of the house. Would they tell? They opinions about the goings on of the house seemed to be neutral, but when it came down to it, would their loyalty lead to them ratting Henry out?

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of nothing but silence and awkward stares, Donald turned to Douglas. “Ye owe me twenty dollars.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings for this chapter: None. Huh, that's weird...

Not surprisingly, days passed before Henry saw Gordon again. He only managed to finally see him when he walked into the library one day and Gordon was already there, sitting in an armchair by the fireplace, reading. He didn’t look up when Henry entered, and Henry wondered if that was intentional.

Clearing his throat, Henry spoke up, “Hey.”

Glancing up briefly, Gordon gave a hum of acknowledgement as he returned to his reading.

Henry sighed. “Maybe now it’s time to finish our earlier talk,” he said as he sat down in a chair across from Gordon. “I think we have some… new information that changes our circumstance a little bit.”

A second passed before Gordon registered what Henry had said. He put down his book, his expression uneasy. “Has Daisy given you the results? Do you know who the father is?”

“No,” Henry lied, deciding not to tell Gordon just yet, “but the discussion we-” he motioned between the two of them “-had the other day was going in a much different direction before I told you I was pregnant.”

“Yes,” Gordon looked away, “it was.”

“Care to revisit it?”

Gordon shook his head, watching the fire dance in the fireplace. “Not particularly,” he said under his breath.

“Well I would,” Henry said sincerely. “I want to know why you thought our relationship needed to end right then and there. I wasn’t expecting that at all. Did something happen?”

Gordon shook his head again. “No, nothing happened...”

Henry’s brow furrowed in concern, “Then what made you want to stop seeing me?”

A pause. Gordon looked down in thought, fidgeting with a loose thread on his sleeve. “I never wanted to stop seeing you. I want nothing more than to spend every moment with you. The thought of getting to see you for even a moment fills me with so much happiness, I don’t know what to do with myself.” He looked up at Henry, “I’m addicted to you.”

Henry was taken aback by Gordon’s answer. “Wow,” he said softly, “I honestly was worried you didn’t have feelings for me anymore.”

Gordon stared at Henry in disbelief, “Seriously?”

“We don’t see each other but maybe once a week, and I don’t see you making any efforts to change that,” Henry said with a shrug. “You won’t talk to me for days at a time. If I didn’t happen to run into you today, who knows when we would have seen each other. It just feels like you don’t really care that much anymore…”

“Don’t you dare think like that,” Gordon said, his voice low. “You haven’t left my mind since I met you. I spend just about every moment thinking about you, wondering if you’re okay, wishing I could hold you and hear your laugh whenever I want.

“The more I thought about us, and what we have, the more I realized what a dangerous game we were playing. I was so afraid we’d get careless and end up being caught some way or another, so I decided it was probably best to avoid you. I have to constantly remind myself that your safety is more important than my needs, and even still, I feel terrible going such long periods without even seeing you. You have no idea how agonizing it is for me to stay away from you.”

Face flushed, Henry smiled and looked down. “I might have an idea,” he mumbled, “I feel the same way, and this pregnancy has only made it worse.”

“How so?”

Realizing his mistake, Henry panicked. “Oh, uh, it’s just made me, um, it’s made me very emotional. Hormones, and such.” He hoped the lie was convincing. Gordon couldn’t know these pups were his yet. Henry let his eyes get glassy with tears in an effort to really sell the act.

Gordon smiled, “I can tell.”

Henry laughed weakly, and the two sat in silence, watching the fire for a while before Gordon spoke up hesitantly, “I have a request, if you don’t mind.”

“Anything,” Henry smiled.

“I think…” Gordon sighed, turning to look away, “I think we should put more effort into convincing Spencer there’s nothing going on between us. If he sniffs out even the slightest hint, we’re doomed. He needs to think that there’s not even a chance in hell we’d, you know...”

Henry nodded in agreement, “Okay, how do you suppose we do that?”

“We need to hate each other.”

Henry nearly choked. “Hate each other?!”

“Only pretend,” Gordon said reassuringly, “just put on a convincing act whenever Spencer is around. Maybe give each other the cold shoulder, enough to make him notice we aren’t on the best terms.”

Frowning, Henry looked away in thought. “I guess I can tell him we had an argument, if he asks what happened.”

“Say I did something so unforgivable you never want to speak to me again. That will convince him.”

“I’ll have to really trash talk you. I might end up making Spencer hate you even more.”

“Whatever gets the job done.”

Henry looked over at Gordon and smiled nervously. The plan was brilliant, but Henry knew he was going to have trouble. Just looking at Gordon made Henry smile uncontrollably.

“So,” Henry said, breaking the silence, “next time Spencer’s out on another business trip and we don’t have to pretend to hate each other, maybe you’d like to help me prepare the garden for winter? I wouldn’t want any of the plants to die after all the work I’ve put into them, and I could use an extra hand.”

“I’d love to,” Gordon said, a hint of a smile on his lips.

-

Days passed, and true to their plan, Henry and Gordon made a point to act less than thrilled to be in each other’s company whenever Spencer was around. To Henry’s relief, being in the same vicinity as Gordon and Spencer didn’t happen often. He hated having to treat Gordon this way. It took all of his strength to ignore Gordon, and to turn up his nose at him whenever they did make accidental eye contact. Henry hated it, and especially because every fiber of his being craved contact and intimacy with his pups’ father.

Judging by the looks Gordon would give him as they parted ways, Henry guessed Gordon felt the same way.

Eventually, Spencer noticed what was happening. “Henry, what’s going on?” he asked one night as the two sat on the couch in Spencer’s office, basking in the warm glow of the fireplace. “You and Gordon don’t seem too friendly with each other these days. Did he do something to you?”

“Uh, he…” Henry paused. _’Quick, think of something…’_ he thought frantically. “He told me he… didn’t think I should keep the pups.” Wincing internally, Henry regretted choosing that lie. He could have done better.

Spencer’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Really?” he said, “What made him say that?”

“Oh, he was asking me when I was due, and what your reaction was, and he just went on about how amazed he was you let me keep them. He said if he had been in your position, he would have shipped me off to get them taken care of.” Henry sighed dramatically, “I couldn’t take him talking about our pups like that, so I went off on him.

Spencer laughed as he listened to Henry’s story. “Honestly, I’m shocked. I never thought he’d have the pair to say that to your face.”

“Me either,” Henry shrugged, “I guess that just shows what a prick he really is.”

Spencer laughed, pulling Henry into his lap. “That’s my boy,” he said. “It’s about time you learned his true colors. That’ll teach you to trust him like you did.”

Henry glanced away nervously, “Yeah…”

“Hey,” Spencer cooed, turning Henry’s head back to face him, “don’t feel bad. You’re one of those people who tries to see the good in others, of course you gave him a chance. No shame in that. But what did you learn?”

Henry gave Spencer his best doe-eyes and fought back the urge to vomit. “Always listen to you.”

Spencer blinked in surprise. “Not the answer I was expecting, but still a very good one.”

Still feeling nauseous, Henry draped his arms around Spencer’s shoulders and buried his face into the side of his neck, taking in the Alpha’s smell. It was comforting, because he was an Alpha, but not as comforting as Gordon’s. “I’m sorry I’ve been so difficult for you all this time,” Henry said, sounding as pitiful as he could, “I promise I’ll listen to you from now on.”

A few moments passed before Spencer spoke. “Are you… okay?” he asked with a chuckle, “You’ve been acting unusual lately, what gives?”

 _’Shit, he’s onto me.’_ Henry looked up through his lashes at Spencer, “What do you mean?”

Expression softening, Spencer sighed. “Maybe I shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth, but you just seem more, I don’t know… like a real Omega. You’re quiet, submissive, loving… A month ago you weren’t like this at all. Why the sudden change?”

Henry thought over his words carefully. “I guess I’m just done trying to fight you. I see no reason to keep acting like I did, I’ve learned that you know best, and fulfilling my purpose as an Omega is easier than trying to resist biology. Plus, I think being pregnant has something to do with it, my hormones are all over the place. I feel helpless and weak, and I need my Alpha to take care of me.” The last part wasn’t a lie, Henry really did feel different now that he was pregnant. Of course, he wouldn’t mention that he was feeling that way towards Gordon…

Spencer smiled, pressing the palm of his hand to Henry’s stomach, which had just begun to swell and show through his shirts. “I’m glad to see you so happy,” Spencer said, pressing a kiss to Henry’s forehead. “I was worried for a while that you weren’t going to be happy here and I’d have to let you go, but now I see I might not have to.”

Expecting Spencer to act smug and haughty like he normally would, Henry was taken aback by Spencer’s response. He even felt a sense of comfort at Spencer’s words. Did Spencer genuinely care about his happiness? No, he couldn’t. _’What in the world…?’_

“Well, it’s getting late,” Spencer said, looking up at the large grandfather clock across the room, “you and the little ones need to get plenty of rest. Off to bed, all of you.” Giving Henry’s stomach a gentle pat, he lifted the Omega off of his lap and ushered him towards the door. “If I finish up my work on time I’ll try and slip into bed later tonight without waking you.”

The door shut behind him, and Henry slowly started the trek upstairs to his bedroom, his mind racing.

-

“I have a… weird request,” Henry said, peeking into the laundry room sheepishly. “Please don’t judge me.”

Mavis paused, leaning against the washing machine with a smile on her face. “Sure thing, what is it?”

Henry’s entire face went red. “Could I have something of Gordon’s? This pregnancy is making me super nauseous all the time and Daisy said that having the father’s scent around can help me feel better.”

Mavis smiled sympathetically. “Of course you can,” she said, fishing around the laundry hamper and pulling out a light blue button up shirt. “Here, take this one, he has several of these and he probably won’t notice if one’s missing.” She tossed the shirt in Henry’s direction.

Henry caught it, bringing it up to his face and taking a deep breath. “I feel better already,” he said with a sigh.

Mavis chuckled, “Why couldn’t you just go and sniff Gordon?”

“Because he doesn’t know,” Henry said sadly. “I haven’t told him he’s the father yet. He’d think it was a little weird that I want to smell him.”

“Ah, makes sense.” Mavis smirked, “So, is there any other reason you can’t just go to Gordon?”

Henry raised an eyebrow in question.

Mavis pressed on, “Anything happening between you two? Something that might, I don’t know, cause you two to suddenly act like strangers?”

“Oh,” Henry said as he began to absentmindedly help Mavis sort through the laundry, “that’s just our plan for throwing off Spencer. We’re trying to put on a convincing act of hating each other so he won’t suspect anything, that way Gordon and I can relax and not worry about Spencer finding out. We’re still laying low, but this way we won’t have to lay quite as low.”

“Makes sense, you had us all convinced something had happened between you two. Douglas tried getting back his twenty dollars from Donald, it was a whole mess.” Mavis smiled appreciatively as Henry handed her a sorted pile of clothes. “You don’t have to do this, you know.”

Henry shrugged, “It seems like a lot for one person to do. Plus the pregnancy is making me instinctively want to clean and sort things, so I’m enjoying this.” He eyed a pair of Gordon’s underwear laying on top of one of the piles. _’I’m enjoying this very much…’_

“Well, I certainly won’t stop you, then,” Mavis laughed. “I’ve gotten used to taking on a bigger workload since we lost a few other employees years ago.”

“There were more of you?” Henry already thought there were plenty of people working here, he couldn’t imagine any more.

“Oh yeah,” Mavis laughed, “we had Hiro, the groundskeeper, and there was Duck, Ryan…” she paused, her face darkening with a blush, “Emily…”

Henry smirked, nudging Mavis’ arm teasingly. “Who’s this Emily that’s gotten you so flustered?”

Mavis giggled and focused on sorting the clothes pile in front of her. “She was a girl who used to work here a few years ago. She would always bring me flowers and try to cheer me up when she thought I seemed sad. Always said her Alpha instincts made her do it.”

“Ooh, an Alpha?” Henry said playfully. “Was she your Alpha?”

“Well, she was never really _my_ Alpha, but I guess in a way she sort of was. She always said that one day she’d claim me as if I was an Omega…” Mavis trailed off and her smile faded.

Henry’s heart sunk. “What happened?”

Mavis looked down at her lap sadly. “She was fired when her Alpha identity was found out.”

“What?!” Henry asked in disbelief, “Why?”

“I guess they didn’t want any other Alphas around,” Mavis said with a shrug. “I’ve noticed a lack of any class except Betas employed here in the last few years. The last Omega was fired the year I started working here, and Emily was the last Alpha who worked here. It seems they’ve decided to only hire Betas now, for whatever reason.

“They?”

“Well, it was Spencer’s decision, really-”

Henry scowled. “Why am I not surprised,” he muttered.

Mavis continued, “Scot and Gordon didn’t bother fighting with him about it though, so they’re all responsible, in my opinion. She wasn’t the only Alpha that Spencer fired.”

Henry shook his head, “That’s not fair.”

“I haven’t seen or heard from Emily since she left,” Mavis said sadly. “She gave me her phone number in hopes of keeping in touch, but when I tried calling her it didn’t even ring. Either her phone got disconnected, or the number was wrong. Maybe I put it in my phone wrong…”

Seeing Mavis so unhappy made Henry’s chest ache with even more loathing towards Spencer. Of course he’d fired every Alpha that could prove to be competition for him. How could he be so insensitive, so insecure-

“Well,” Mavis said suddenly, her tone much more chipper, “no sense in dwelling on it. Nothing I can do about it now. Could you hand those over here please?”

Henry gave her an apologetic look, handing her the clothes she was pointing to. “I’m sorry that happened,” he said softly.

Taking them from Henry’s hands, Mavis returned the look. “So am I.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, this chapter is super short, and it was super rushed. But next chapter is going to be super long to make up for it. Brace yourselves.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings for this chapter: Vague mentions of rape, talk about pregnancy if that squicks you out but nothing graphic.

Soon, November had arrived, and with it came chilly air and bare trees. Henry realized with disappointment that he would have to stop working in the garden due to the weather, and he’d have to find other ways to spend his time. The library came to mind, but Gordon frequented the library, and Henry would rather not have to pretend to despise Gordon more than he needed to, so he preferred to avoid him when possible. Henry supposed he could just spend time in his room, but he’d rather not be cooped up in the same space all the time. That left him with very few options. He was beginning to grow restless.

One night, as Henry sat in front of the large window in his bedroom watching snow flurries sprinkle down, he heard a knock at the door. “Come in,” he said. To Henry’s surprise, Spencer entered, carrying a small gift bag in his hand.

Spencer chuckled,“Bored?”

 _’That’s odd, Spencer never knocks…’_ “Hardly,” Henry replied, “I could watch the snow all day.”

“Well, I have a little present for you.”

Henry froze. Memories of what happened the last time Spencer brought him a “present” made panic rise in Henry’s throat, and he felt the color drain from his face. “Oh?” he said shakily.

Spencer didn’t seem to notice Henry’s nervousness as he sat down on the edge of Henry’s bed and patted the space next to him. “Come, sit,” he said with a smile.

Henry couldn’t read whether Spencer’s smile was genuine, and he hesitantly sat beside him.

Spencer handed him the bag. “I wasn’t sure if it was too early to be shopping for baby things yet, but I saw this and figured you’d like it.”

Now Henry was curious. Reaching into the bag, his hand was met by soft fabric. Pulling it out, he saw it was a small, light green blanket, with a leaf pattern sewn into the edges. “It’s beautiful,” Henry gasped.

“It’s expensive,” Spencer smirked, “that’s made with some of the finest wool on the planet.”

“Spencer, you didn’t have to-”

“Nonsense,” Spencer waved his hand dismissively, “my children will get nothing but the best, and so will you. I ordered you a matching one, adult sized of course. It takes a little while to make them, but it should be here in a week or two.”

As Henry held the blanket and admired the delicate stitching, he couldn’t help but think about everything he had recently done to Spencer. The way he had been so cold to him, lying about the pups’ father, seeing Gordon behind Spencer’s back… Henry could have justified his behavior a month ago, but now Spencer was being genuinely kind to him, and Henry’s stomach twisted with guilt. He tried reminding himself of everything Spencer had done to him, but…

Maybe that was all in the past.

Henry in no way felt any sort of affection towards Spencer, but the idea that Spencer was trying to make amends and change his ways for Henry nagged at him. If Spencer was really trying to change…

Henry’s thoughts were interrupted by Spencer clearing his throat. “I’ve, uh, got something else for you.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a tiny box. Popping it open, he revealed an intricate silver ring inside, decorated with emeralds and tiny diamonds.

Henry was speechless.

“I know we got off to a rocky start,” Spencer chuckled, “but now that we’ve gotten to know each other a little more and things have calmed down, I’m absolutely enamoured with you. Your beauty and charm never fail to fascinate me. You’re perfect, and I can’t wait for you to be mine.”

As much as he wanted to be wary of Spencer’s words, Henry couldn’t find fault with anything he said. Spencer sounded so… genuine. Henry watched in a trance as Spencer slid the ring carefully onto his finger, still trying to process what was happening.

Spencer inspected the ring once it was on. “Looks a little big,” he mused, “I’ll see if I can get it resized for you.”

“Don’t,” Henry insisted, “I think it fits perfectly.”

“You don’t think it’ll come off?”

Henry shook his head. He didn’t want to wear the ring when he was around Gordon, so he wanted to be able to remove it easily. “I doubt I’ll be moving my hands around that much, it should be just fine.”

“Very well,” Spencer smiled, “this size it shall stay.” He brought Henry’s hand up and gave it a gentle kiss, followed by another, and another, trailing up Henry’s arms until he reached his lips, where he pulled Henry into a passionate kiss.

As Henry returned the kiss, he realized he had never felt so genuinely happy with Spencer before. The idea of having to marry him still made him feel queasy, but in this moment, Spencer was treating Henry the way he wanted to be treated from the beginning, the way Spencer had promised to treat him. Henry felt loved and spoiled by Spencer, for the first time since he had been brought here, and he found himself enjoying it very much.

The guilt he felt earlier returned, creeping up his spine as he thought back to everything he was doing behind Spencer’s back, as well as what was happening right now, behind Gordon’s back. Sure, Gordon knew Henry had to fake his feelings for Spencer in order to not arouse suspicion, but…

Henry wasn’t sure he was faking.

As Henry felt himself being laid down, he began to panic. “Wait,” he said, as Spencer crawled on top of him, “I don’t-”

“I’ll be gentle,” Spencer whispered.

And he was. He was gentle as he undressed them both, he was gentle as he caressed and kissed Henry’s body, he was gentle even as he entered Henry, making sure to watch the Omega for signs of discomfort. Even his thrusts were gentle. Henry felt safe and comfortable the entire time, and soon his body was overcome with bliss as Spencer brought him to orgasm.

Spencer was gentle as he pulled the covers over them both and kissed Henry goodnight.

-

Sometime in the middle of the night, Henry stirred awake to see Spencer quietly gathering his clothes from the floor and getting dressed. “You’re heading out?” Henry asked groggily as he sat up, leaning back against the headboard.

Startled to hear Henry awake, Spencer whipped around, giving Henry an apologetic look. “I have an early meeting tomorrow. I’ll be having a lot of those for a while, unfortunately, but if I’m going to stay on top of work to make up for time I’ll be losing when the pups are born I’ve gotta bust my ass now. So I have a slew of meetings and trips lined up for a while.”

“I understand,” Henry said. He wasn’t about to complain. More time with Spencer away meant more time he could spend with Gordon. Looking over at the clock, Henry saw it was almost five in the morning. “Oh wow, it’s that late already. Er, early, I guess…”

Spencer chuckled, “If all goes well I should be back late this evening. That’ll give us plenty of time to do this again.” He winked, which Henry could barely see in the dimly lit room.

Henry expected to feel ill at the implication Spencer was making, but to his surprise, he was excited at the concept of spending another night with Spencer, if it went anything like the previous night did.

As Spencer finished buttoning his shirt, he leaned over and kissed the top of Henry’s head. “Go back to sleep,” he said softly.

Still smiling to himself, Henry snuggled under the covers and drifted off to sleep as he heard Spencer’s footsteps leave the room, followed by the door closing gently behind him.

-

“Remind me why we’re doing this?”

“Because,” Henry said, throwing a tarp over some shrubbery, “it’s supposed to snow even more tonight, and these plants will die if they aren’t covered. It’s perfect timing too, Spencer isn’t supposed to get back for a few more hours, so we can do this together and spend time with each other, something we haven’t done in too long.”

Gordon hummed in agreement. “I really hate that, you know. Not seeing you for days at a time.”

“I hate it too,” Henry said sadly. “At least Spencer’s going to be having a lot of meetings these next few months.”

Gordon cocked his head, “How do you know?”

“He told me. It’s to make up for the time he’s going to lose once the pups are born. But since he’s not-” Henry paused, He kept forgetting that Gordon didn’t know he was the father. Several times now he almost let it slip. He needed Gordon to believe just as much as Spencer did. Henry tried again, “Since he’s not bearing them, he’ll have to spend time bonding with the pups, and, you know…”

“That’s only if they turn out to be his pups,” Gordon interjected.

Henry blinked. “Right, yes,” he stammered, “I’m just assuming

Gordon looked over to Henry with a hint of sadness in his eyes. “You can just tell me if they’re his. It won’t hurt my feelings.”

“I don’t know,” Henry lied, “I haven’t gotten the results from Daisy yet.”

“Ah, well please don’t be afraid to let me know whenever you do get the results.” Gordon looked away as he continued covering the garden. “If the pups do end up being Spencer’s, that would complicate our relationship a bit. We’d have to figure out what we…” Gordon trailed off as something shiny caught his eye, and he froze. He stared at the ring on Henry’s finger as it glinted in the sunlight. “Is that…?”

Looking over, Henry saw that Gordon’s eyes were locked onto the ring. “Oh, yeah, Spencer gave this to me yesterday.”

“...You’re not going to take it off while he’s not here?”

Henry held his hand out and admired the ring with a smile. “I thought about it, but I kind of like it. It’s pretty.”

Gordon cleared his throat awkwardly. “So, is it, uh, is it an engagement ring? Or is it just a gift?”

Henry stared at Gordon quizzically. “It’s… both?”

“You’re not actually planning on getting married to him are you?”

Laughing, Henry shook his head. “Not if I can help it.”

“Oh.” Letting out a breath of relief, Gordon resumed pulling the tarp over the large hedge. “Good, good. I just assumed since you accepted the ring, and you’re wearing it now…”

Henry gave him a curious look, “You seem bothered by this.”

Gordon shook his head, though his jaw was tense. “I’m not bothered by it at all.”

“...Yes you are.”

“Am not.”

Henry laughed, “Yes, you are. What about this bothers you so much? I’m supposed to be doing this stuff, remember? In addition to pretending to hate you, I have to pretend to be the perfect Omega for Spencer. I have to pretend to enjoy being around him, I have to pretend that I want to get married to him, I have to pretend that he makes me happy. It makes me just as uncomfortable as it makes you.”

“Well, it’s sort of unnerving to see you looking so happy around him and talking about him,” Gordon said with a scowl. “I mean, you seem excited to wear his ring, and you’re eagerly assuming he’s the father of those pups, how else am I supposed to feel?”

His smile fading, Henry focused on tying the tarps down. “You _could_ feel relieved that Spencer’s buying into this act we’re putting on. You could even feel happy that he’s not mistreating me like he used to do, even if it’s only because I’m bearing his children.”

“I do feel those things.”

“Maybe so, but you’re obviously feeling something else that’s overriding those feelings and causing you to act like this.”

“Act like what?” Gordon said defensively.

“Like this!” Henry gestured vaguely between the two of them, “Fighting with me about wearing a _ring_. I know I’m not imagining this, you’re acting super weird. What gives?”

Gordon turned away and rolled his eyes. “If you ask me, your hormones are just acting up…” he scoffed.

“Oh, you did _not_ just say that-”

“Excuse me…”

Henry and Gordon both jumped in surprise as Mavis’ voice piped up from behind them.

“Henry,” Mavis continued, “I have a message from Spencer. He’s not going to be able to make it home tonight due to heavy snow, and he sends his sincerest apologies. He should be back by tomorrow evening, if weather permits.”

“You’d think he’d just let me get a cell phone so he could stop sending people to give me heart attacks…” Henry muttered under his breath. He thanked Mavis and resumed covering the budding bush in front of him.

As Mavis walked away, Gordon turned to Henry, his expression eager, “Spend the night with me.”

Henry looked up and blinked in surprise. “Did you just, like, completely forget we were having a fight, or…?”

“I don’t care, just stay with me tonight, in my room.”

Henry was taken aback by the sudden request. “Are you serious?”

“Absolutely,” Gordon said. “When’s the next time we’ll get this opportunity?”

Henry mulled it over nervously. Everything that could go wrong flooded his brain. “What if Spencer gets back and can smell you on me?”

“Take a really thorough shower in the morning.”

“What if someone finds out and tells Spencer?”

“They won’t.”

“Maybe he’s paid them to?”

“I’ll kill them both.”

“Gordon!”

“I just…” Gordon paused, thinking over his words carefully, “I really want to fall asleep next to you. I can’t explain it. All I can think about is being with you, like something inside me is nagging at me to have you near me, to keep you safe. To keep those pups safe, too. It physically hurts being away from you. I don’t know what it is.”

Henry swallowed. _’I do…’_

Gordon continued, “So, what do you say?”

For a moment, Henry thought it over. He supposed spending the night with Gordon wouldn’t hurt. Besides, he’d be lying if he said he didn’t want to. The timing was perfect, he had to admit. Finally, he caved in. “I’d love to.”

Gordon’s face lit up. “Wonderful,” he smiled, “I’ll have to tidy up a bit first, but just drop by whenever you want this evening.”

-

“Right on time,” Gordon chuckled as he opened the door to let Henry in.

“How can I be on time if we didn’t set a specific time for me to arrive?”

Gordon rolled his eyes, “Just get in here.”

Looking around, Henry took notice of how spotless Gordon’s room was. Last time he was in here Gordon had cleaned beforehand, but even then the room wasn’t this spotless. Henry smiled to himself. _’Alpha nesting instincts sure are less chaotic than Omega nesting instincts…’_ He followed Gordon across the room and they sat at the foot of Gordon’s bed..

“So,” Henry said, taking a calming breath while he fidgeted with his hands nervously, “while we’re here, I was hoping to talk to you about the pups.”

“Really?” Gordon’s brow furrowed, “Is everything all right?”

Henry nodded. “Yes, everything’s fine, it’s just… I know the identity of the father.”

Gordon’s heart skipped a beat.

Henry continued, “I’ve actually known for about a month now, but I didn’t want to make things weird between us. But now I think it’s best if you know too.”

Gordon remained silent.

“It’s funny, for a little while, I didn’t even want to know. I mean, I knew I should know, so of course when Daisy offered to do a test I accepted,” Henry rambled, “but for a hot second I honestly thought maybe I could keep it a secret forever. But of course the physical similarities between the pups and their parents are pretty easy to spot the older they get, so unless I got very very lucky, I don’t think I could’ve kept that hidden for very long-”

“Just tell me who it is,” Gordon sighed.

Henry took a deep breath. “It’s you.”

A long pause hung in the air. Henry searched Gordon’s face, hoping he wouldn’t be upset. “They’re a hundred percent yours,” Henry said to fill in the silence. “No doubt about it. I know, I asked. Multiple times.”

Henry waited. No response.

“In a way, I’m sort of glad they’re yours. I mean, if you think about it, things might have been worse if the pups had been Spencer’s. I’d be stuck with him until they grew out of needing their father, and that could take years,” Henry babbled nervously as he watched Gordon for any kind of reaction, “Of course, now the problem is that they’re going to need you, and I don’t think there’s going to be any easy way to go about hiding that from Spencer-” Henry stopped when Gordon placed a hand on Henry’s arm.

Gordon’s brows furrowed as he processed everything. “So you’re saying that I’m the father?”

Henry nodded. “Just call me Maury.”

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Slowly, Gordon’s face lit up as a grin crept onto his face. He pulled Henry into a hug, his arms wrapping around the startled Omega and squeezing tightly. When Gordon pulled back, there were tears in his eyes, which he quickly wiped away with the back of his hand. “I’m a _father_ ,” he said, his voice shaking.

Henry smiled, “You’re certainly taking this better than I thought you would.”

Laughing with joy, Gordon kissed Henry over and over again, peppering kisses across his face before pulling him into another hug. “I’m going to be a father,” Gordon said, beaming with pride, “I can’t believe it, I never imagined I’d- That I’d ever… and with _you_ , I-”

Amused by Gordon’s reaction, Henry planted a firm kiss to his lips. “Me either.”

“This explains why I’ve been feeling separation anxiety for the past month…”

“And why your room looks like Marie Kondo went nuts in here,” Henry added.

“Do you know how many pups there are? Are any of them Alphas? Omegas?” Gordon asked excitedly.

Henry nodded, “I just had my first ultrasound with Daisy a few days ago, actually.” He looked down at his stomach, lifting his shirt to reveal the barely visible bump. “There’s four of them in there. We don’t know the sexes or the classes yet, but there’s definitely four. Would you like to feel them?”

Gordon nodded hesitantly. His hands pressed to Henry’s stomach, and he beamed, “Wow,” he said breathlessly, “four…”

“I know,” Henry giggled, “I don’t really look pregnant now, but there’s four little lumps sitting in there that’ll turn into babies.”

Gordon stared at Henry’s stomach in wonder, before taking Henry’s hands in his own, looking at him with sudden sincerity. “I’m about to say the most cliche sentence I have ever said in my life.”

Henry blinked. “Uh…?”

“Run away with me.”

“... _uh_...?””

“I refuse to let anything or anyone hurt any of you, and if that means leaving this place then so be it,” Gordon said sternly, “I’ll take us as far away from here as we can physically go, somewhere we can live together as a family. We’ll have our own house, with a yard for the kids to play in, and the biggest garden you could ever dream of. We can leave tonight. It’s perfect timing. Spencer will be gone for another twenty-four hours at least, that’s plenty of time to get our stuff and leave.”

Henry pulled his hands away from Gordon’s. “Woah, hold on a second-”

“I know it’s sudden,” Gordon said, looking into Henry’s eyes solemnly, ‘but I just want to keep you safe and happy.”

Grateful, but still overwhelmed, Henry took a deep breath to calm his nerves. “Let’s just… take a step back for a second, and think about this. Do you have a plan for what we would do and where we would go if we left tonight?”

Gordon shook his head.

“We can’t just leave,” Henry said hesitantly. “Who knows how Spencer would react? Best case scenario he moves on quickly and leaves us alone, worst case scenario he goes berserk and tears the planet apart to find us and get revenge.”

Gordon scoffed, “That would be typical of him.”

“Exactly.” Henry’s hands balled into fists and he gripped the sheets below him tightly, “I’m not about to put my children at risk for such a small chance they would be safe. I think we should take things slow. If we rush into this and something goes wrong, there’s no undoing it.”

Gordon nodded, looking down thoughtfully. “But if we stay here and do nothing, there’s no undoing that. That’s time wasted in a place where we aren’t safe.”

“I know.” Henry let out a frustrated huff, crossing his arms over his chest. “I really hate this,” he muttered.

Gordon looked up at Henry, scooting closer so their legs touched. “Let’s make a plan,” he said, resting his hand on Henry’s thigh comfortingly. “We’ll take things as slow as you want, but I think if we had a plan this would all be a little easier.”

Henry was silent as he thought for a moment. “I’d like to be out of here before the wedding, but I have no clue when that’s happening. All I know is Spencer wants to wait until the pups are born.”

“That still gives us months to come up with something. What should we do until then?”

“We continue as we were. We act like we can’t stand each other so Spencer is none the wiser.”

Gordon scowled, “Must we?”

“Yes,” Henry rolled his eyes with a smile, “we must. It’ll throw off Spencer enough to keep us in the clear, that way we can find a solution to this… this problem.”

“Why are we putting so much effort into keeping Spencer in the dark about the pups’ parentage when he’s going to figure it out eventually?” Gordon scoffed, “I’m sure he’s going to grow suspicious when he realizes he isn’t feeling the usual nesting and instinctive protectiveness Alphas are supposed to feel.”

Henry shifted so he leaned back against the headboard and sighed. “Let’s just hope he doesn’t notice.”

Gordon hummed in agreement, moving so he sat beside Henry, leaning back in the same fashion. The two sat in quiet thought for a few minutes, with Gordon giving Henry an occasional quick glance.

Finally, Henry noticed Gordon looking over at him from the corner of his eye. “What?”

Gordon looked away quickly, “Nothing…” 

Henry looked over and cocked an eyebrow curiously.

A furious blush crept up into Gordon’s cheeks and he glanced over. “I just can’t believe you’re pregnant with four pups… you look amazing.”

Henry’s face turned almost as red as Gordon’s “Well, I won’t look pregnant for another month or two.”

Gordon grinned smugly, “You’ll still look amazing.”

With a stifled giggle, Henry leaned over and gave Gordon an appreciative kiss. “You’re too sweet.”

Gordon resumed the kiss eagerly. “You know,” he said, “we’ve still got the night for ourselves.” He traced his fingers down Henry’s spine teasingly, causing the Omega to shudder.

Henry giggled, pushing him away playfully. “We really shouldn’t-” Henry was silenced when Gordon pushed him down onto his back, peppering his neck and cheeks with kisses. “Gordon…” he moaned.

Pulling away, Gordon looked into Henry’s eyes, pleading with him. “Please?” he said pitifully.

Henry’s heart thudded in his chest and he grinned. “Well, I can’t say no to that face, can I?”

-

_Gordon couldn’t move. He was bent over a desk- Spencer’s desk, he realized. Though he couldn’t seem to turn his head to look, he knew it was Spencer who was behind him, holding him down. Gordon could feel hands on his wrists, gripping his waist, pulling his hair, pressing him so hard he thought his bones would snap… It was as if Spencer had sprouted more arms. There were so many hands on him, touching him…_

_The room was getting darker. Gordon struggled to breathe._

_Spencer was inside of him. It stung. No matter how many times this happened, it always stung like hell. Gordon tried to shout for help, but the room remained silent. Deafeningly silent. No matter how much Gordon tried, no sound came out when he screamed. It never did._

_The room got darker still._

_No one was coming to help him._

_Darker._

_No one ever came to help him._

_Darker._

_Darker._

_Darker…_

Gordon jolted awake, sitting up with a gasp. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he recognized his surroundings as his own bedroom. _’Just another nightmare…’_ Running a hand through his hair, he looked around in an attempt to calm down. Movement beside Gordon made him flinch, but his heart settled when he saw it was only Henry. Memories of the previous day flashed in his mind, and Gordon couldn’t help but smile. He laid back down, pressing his chest to Henry’s back and wrapping his arms around the sleeping Omega.

Out of sheer curiosity, Gordon gently pressed the palm of his hand to Henry’s slightly swollen stomach, taking in the warm skin. Gordon marveled at the feeling. The idea that there was life in there, life that he and Henry created, filled him with pride.

Soon, all traces of the nightmare were gone from his mind, and Gordon drifted off to sleep again to thoughts of Henry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ring, if anyone is curious:
> 
> https://www.claddaghringking.com/14k-White-Gold-Emerald-Claddagh-Wedding-Ring-Set-p/engz34s_e_14kw.htm


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings for this chapter: None really, just a brief conversation about breeding Omegas at certain ages but nothing triggering.

“I was joking about the thorough shower, you know…”

“Well I’m not,” Henry retorted. “Spencer may be acting nicer to me as of recently, but if he smells even the slightest whiff of your scent on me, I guarantee he’ll go ballistic. I’m not taking any chances.”

Gordon chuckled, “Fair enough.” He followed Henry over to the door, admiring his body as he did. “Maybe if we’re lucky Spencer won’t be home tonight too.”

“Even if that happens,” Henry said with a smile, “I’m not going to spend another night with you. There’s too much of a risk.”

Gordon pouted in exaggerated disappointment.

With a sigh, Henry reached for the door handle. “What if he gets back early tomorrow morning?”

“Message received,” Gordon said as he rolled his eyes. “I guess we’ll both have to spend the night apart. Alone. In our cold, silent rooms. Alone.”

“You said alone already,” Henry smirked, poking Gordon in the chest teasingly, “and I believe you’re the only one who’s going to be alone tonight, if Spencer returns this evening.”

Gordon clutched his heart dramatically. “Oh, the indignity…”

Laughing, Henry opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. Before he could say goodbye, Gordon hooked a finger through one of Henry’s belt loops and pulled him closer. “What are you-?”

“Were you about to leave without a goodbye kiss?” Gordon growled playfully.

Henry grinned, “Maybe I was, but it _is_ what we agreed on, you know.”

“Ah, but you’re wrong,” Gordon smirked, snaking his arms around Henry, “our agreement only applies whenever Spencer is around, and seeing as he’s not here…” Gordon leaned forward to kiss Henry, but before he could, movement nearby caught his eye. Gordon looked up, and his heart plummeted.

“What?” Henry giggled, but his smile dropped instantly when he turned and saw Thomas watching them in disbelief. He and Gordon jumped apart as quick as shrapnel, but the damage was already done. “...How much did you hear?” Henry asked hesitantly.

Thomas’s face twisted into an angry scowl. “I heard enough.”

Gordon and Henry exchanged a worried glance.

“How could you do this to Spencer?” Thomas asked Henry, “He’s your Alpha, he’s the one who loves you and protects you!”

“You’re assuming a lot, little Thomas…” Gordon scoffed.

Henry elbowed Gordon in the ribs to get him to be quiet before turning back to Thomas, “Please, Thomas, just listen for a second-”

“No,” Thomas said angrily, “I can’t believe you’d do this. What kind of horrible, selfish Omega cheats on an Alpha who takes them in and cares for them.”

“He didn’t take me in,” Henry snapped, “he bought me, after I was stolen from my home.”

“He gave you children, Henry! That’s every Omega’s dream!”

Henry didn’t even bother asking how Thomas knew about the pups. He didn’t care at the moment. “Not every Omega dreams about being impregnated by an Alpha, Thomas!”

“Sensible ones do,” Thomas said, crossing his arms defiantly. “Omegas who respect and appreciate their Alphas can’t wait to have their children. Selfish and horrible Omegas get all of that and still choose to make choices that hurt their Alpha.”

Henry moved towards Thomas, but Gordon reached out and held him back when he saw the fury hidden behind Henry’s eyes. “How about we all just calm down, and-”

Ignoring Gordon, Thomas stormed off down the hallway. “I’m telling Spencer about this!” he shouted.

“He’s not even here,” Gordon laughed, “how do you plan on-” He stopped when he heard a hiccuped sob come from beside him. Looking over in alarm, he saw angry tears rolling down Henry’s cheeks as he struggled to suppress his cries. Gordon’s chest ached at the sight.

“He’s right,” Henry barely managed to squeak out, “I’m being so selfish a-and horrible-”

Gordon shushed Henry, stroking his hair comfortingly. “He doesn’t know everything that Spencer’s done to you,” Gordon whispered into Henry’s ear reassuringly. “If he did, he wouldn’t be saying those things. You’re not a horrible person, Henry.”

Wiping the tears from his eyes, Henry took a calming breath.

Gordon continued, “We’d better go and see just how he plans on telling Spencer when he’s miles away.” With one last kiss to Henry’s cheek, Gordon took him by the hand and led him down the hall after Thomas.

As they descended the stairs, Henry recognized where they were headed, and his heart sank. “He went to Scot’s office…”

“It seems he did,” Gordon said calmly.

“Gordon, he went to _Scot’s office_!”

“We’ve established that…”

Henry couldn’t believe how calm Gordon was. “If Scot finds out about what’s happening between us, we’re _screwed_. There’s no way he’d allow this to happen, he’ll tell Spencer in a heartbeat!”

“Actually-” Gordon started to explain, but before he could finish Henry dashed ahead of him.

Henry burst into the room and saw Thomas talking to Scot in an animated fashion. Scot sat at his desk, an amused look on his face as he watched Thomas, and he glanced over to Henry as he entered, giving him a friendly smile before looking back to Thomas.

“-need to tell Spencer, he deserves to know what’s going on!” Thomas pleaded.

Henry held his breath, waiting for Scot’s response. He heard Gordon come in behind him, and he wanted more than anything for Gordon to hold him to calm his nerves, but he resisted the temptation.

Scot ignored Thomas, turning to address Henry. “That reminds me, I’ve been meaning to congratulate you on your pregnancy, Henry. I assume everything is going well?”

The fact that Scot wasn’t even acknowledging everything Thomas had just told him frightened Henry. He couldn’t even form words to respond to Scot’s question, too busy trying to process what was happening.

Scot noticed Henry’s nervous expression and looked over to Gordon. “He had no idea, did he?”

“No,” Gordon admitted, “I hadn’t told him that you knew yet.”

Thomas’ eyes darted rapidly between Gordon, Henry, and then to Scot. “You _knew_?”

Sighing, Scot stood up and stood beside Thomas, putting an arm around the confused Omega. “Well, seeing as we’re all a little confused about everything right now, I think it’s time we give our Omegas an explanation. We owe it to them, don’t we Gordon?”

“ _Our_ Omegas?!” Thomas shouted.

Gordon nodded to Scot, nudging Henry gently towards the door. “I’ll explain everything,” he said quietly, “let’s go back to my room.” Sending an appreciative glance to Scot, Gordon took Henry by the hand and quickly led him out the door.

-

“Listen,” Gordon said as he shut his bedroom door behind them, “I know I should have told you about-”

“When the hell did you tell Scot about us?!” Henry’s voice cracked as he struggled to swallow the anxious feeling rising in his throat.

Gordon sighed. “I told him a while ago,” he said quietly, placing his hands on Henry’s shoulders comfortingly. “He suspected something was going on between you and I, and I trust him enough that I decided to go ahead and fill him in.”

Henry was still uneasy. He looked away as he thought, taking everything in. “He won’t tell Spencer?”

Gordon shook his head. “Scot may have more respect for Spencer than I do, but he still isn’t too fond of him.”

“How did he know I was pregnant?”

“Spencer hasn’t stopped bragging about it for weeks,” Gordon scoffed, “how could Scot _not_ know?”

Henry’s brow furrowed, “Are you going to tell him they’re yours?”

“Telling Scot about that is your choice to make, not mine.”

“And he’s okay with…” Henry trailed off, gesturing between the two of them.

“We have his full support. He told me so.” Seeing Henry still looked troubled, Gordon kissed him gently on the forehead. “I wouldn’t have told him if I didn’t think he’d be on board with all of this. Now, if we’re done playing twenty questions,” Gordon smirked, “I think we should go back and talk to Scot, assuming he’s finished explaining everything to Thomas by now.”

-

Henry fiddled with his sleeves awkwardly as he sat in the green armchair in front of Scot’s desk, with Gordon sitting in the chair beside him. Thomas sat on the edge of the desk, avoiding eye contact with the other two. Occasionally, Henry’s eyes would meet Thomas’ and they would each look away quickly. Gordon noticed, and was amused by the interactions.

“I’m sorry Spencer’s been treating you like that,” Thomas said suddenly.

Henry blinked. “Thank you, I-”

“But I’m still not okay with this,” Thomas continued, glaring at Gordon, who glared back, “but if Scot is willing to support you two then I guess I can live with it.”

“We’re thrilled you approve,” Gordon deadpanned, earning him a stern nudge from Henry.

Thomas looked away and pouted, crossing his arms across his chest childishly.

To everyone’s relief, Scot finally returned, sitting down at his desk and giving everyone a reassuring smile. “Now that we’re all on the same page,” he said as he turned to Henry, “I believe I asked you about your pups? How are they doing? Is Spencer as proud as he’s led Gordon and I to believe he is?”

“Actually, they’re…” Henry glanced over to Gordon, considering whether he wanted Scot to know the truth. “They’re doing fantastic. Spencer couldn’t be more excited.” Henry watched from the corner of his eye as Gordon shifted slightly in his seat.

Scot smiled knowingly, “I’m sure the idea of having his own pups has made him very happy.”

“It certainly has,” Henry said, an uneasy smile on his face.

“Tell me,” Scot leaned forward, folding his hands on the desk in front of him, “have the symptoms hit Spencer yet? I’m sure he’s been getting restless whenever the two of you are separated.”

“He always looks forward to seeing me in the evenings.” Technically, Henry wasn’t lying.

“Has he been doing a lot of cleaning lately? Alphas always turn into neat freaks when they’ve got pups on the way.” Scot turned to Gordon, “Funny enough, you’ve been unusually tidy lately. Maybe the proximity to a pregnant Omega has triggered something in you, too.”

Gordon’s lips pressed together in a tight line, and Henry laughed nervously. “Is that a thing? I never knew that was a thing, wow, biology sure is weird.”

“Indeed it is,” Scot smirked, his brow quirking in interest. “So, how often has Spencer been-“

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Gordon cut in angrily, “the pups are mine, Scot. Congratulations, you figured it out, you can stop interrogating Henry now.”

Thomas’ jaw dropped, and Henry gave Gordon a look that said ‘What the fuck?’

Gordon turned to Henry, his face apologetic. “I know I said I would let you tell him, but this was getting ridiculous…”

Leaning back in his chair, Scot glanced between the two. “I figured as much,” he said, his smile faded and his lips pressed in a firm line. “I’m disappointed in you two. I’m aware that when an Omega is in heat both parties involved lose a few of their brain cells, but I speak from experience when I say there’s still enough brain cells left to still make smart decisions. Birth control should have been your first priority. Given the secretive nature of your relationship, I assumed you two, of all people, would have had the common sense to not conceive pups at this point.”

Hot shame crept up Henry’s spine, and he felt his face turning red. Looking over to Gordon, Henry was surprised to see the Alpha looking unbothered by Scot’s words.

Scot continued, “However, what’s done is done. We’ll just have to work with what we’ve got, not to sound so blunt.” He turned to Henry, “I’ve already had this discussion with Gordon, but it’s time I present the option to you. To make a long story short, I’m prepared to assist the two of you by providing you money and a secluded place to live. You could decide to make it a permanent arrangement, or it could be temporary, that’s up to you. But the important part is getting you two out of here before Spencer catches wind of what’s going on and everything goes to hell. Your safety, Gordon’s safety, and those pups’ safety are all on the line while you’re here. The best course of action is to get you two as far away from him as possible, and I’m happy to assist.”

Henry knew Scot was right, but something about going through with that plan didn’t sit right with him. Something was telling him he was meant to stay here.

“You’re welcome to turn down my offer,” Scot said, “but I highly suggest accepting.”

There was a brief pause. “I’ll think about it,” Henry said.

Scot raised an eyebrow in question. “You’ll think about it?”

Henry nodded.

Scot glanced over to Gordon, who simply shrugged, before looking back to Henry. “Pardon me for asking, but what exactly is there to think about?”

Biting his lip, Henry looked down at his lap in thought. “I just don’t want to rush into this,” he said quietly. “It doesn’t feel right. I want to make sure I’m making the right decision before jumping in headfirst.”

There was a moment of silence as Scot thought over what Henry said. “I commend you on being careful about making rash decisions, though that would have been more useful a couple months ago.”

The implication wasn’t lost on Henry, but he knew Scot was right, so he kept his mouth shut.

Scot turned to Gordon, “It’s been a while since I made this offer to you, but at the time you also turned it down. It’s curious to me that you both turned down an offer to, and I cannot stress this enough, literally escape your problems in the blink of an eye. Henry’s reasons are understandable, but I still don’t really understand yours. Perhaps you could enlighten me.”

Gordon shifted awkwardly as he cleared his throat. “Actually,” he said, looking over to Henry, “given our current situation, I’d take it in a heartbeat.”

Henry and Scot’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Really?” they said in unison.

“That’s freaky…” Gordon said, his eyes darting between the two of them.

“What changed between then and now that’s made you reconsider?” Scot asked, “You’ve always been too proud to accept anybody’s help.”

“Because this isn’t about me,” Gordon retorted, not taking his eyes off of Henry. “I’ve got other lives to protect now, and I’ll do whatever it takes to do that. Now we’ve got the perfect solution being quite literally handed to us, and I’m not about to let that opportunity pass by with everything that’s at risk.”

Henry’s heart ached as Gordon spoke. The idea that Gordon was willing to do anything to keep Henry and the pups safe filled Henry’s chest with warmth.

“However,” Gordon continued, “if Henry wants to wait to decide, I respect his decision.”

Scot hummed in thought before addressing Thomas. “What are your thoughts on this?”

Thomas blinked in surprise, clearly not expecting to be a part of the discussion. “Why in the world are you asking me?”

“Because you’ve been a little too quiet throughout this whole conversation for somebody who can’t ever seem to stop talking.”

Thomas’ face flushed, his lips curving into a pout. Gordon snickered, but went silent when he received another nudge from Henry. “Honestly, I think this whole thing is ridiculous,” Thomas said, glaring at Gordon.

“I can’t say I disagree,” Scot smirked, “but that doesn’t mean their happiness should be compromised, right?”

Thomas was silent.

Giving Thomas a knowing look, Scot continued, “Sometimes people make decisions they know they shouldn’t, and they end up in situations that aren’t exactly ideal, but in the end, they still deserve to be happy, wouldn’t you agree?”

Gordon and Henry exchanged curious glances, sensing there was a hidden meaning behind Scot’s words.

Thomas’ scowl faded. “Yeah…”

“Then you’d also agree that we should do whatever we can to ensure they’re happy, even if we don’t agree with everything that is going on?”

“Yeah,” Thomas huffed, “I agree.”

“Good,” Scot smiled, turning back to Henry and Gordon. “You two take your time thinking about what you want to do. Whenever you reach a decision, let me know, and Thomas and I will gladly help you however you need.”

-

After Henry had taken a very thorough shower to get Gordon’s scent off of him, Spencer returned, eager to see his Omega. He brought with him a beautiful watch for Henry; it had a silver band with emeralds embedded into the watch face. Swallowing the familiar guilt that rose in his throat, Henry thanked Spencer. They spent the evening cuddling in front of the fireplace as Spencer told Henry all about his trip. Henry found himself listening eagerly, genuinely enjoying the stories. As Spencer talked, Henry basked in the warmth of the fire, as well as the comforting feeling of having an Alpha’s arms around him.

“In other words,” Spencer said with a tired huff, “I’ve learned to never question Mr. Montague’s methods, lest I receive a lengthy speech about it.” He looked down at Henry, who had his eyes closed with a soft smile on his face. Spencer chuckled, “You asleep?”

“Yes,” Henry said sarcastically.

“Well wake up, I have one last thing to share with you.”

Henry opened his eyes and sat up, stretching his arms over his head. “What is it?”

“Well, there’s going to be a sort of work social next week, and I offered to host it here so I could bring you with me without worrying about you traveling in your condition.”

Henry laughed, “Spencer, I’m not that pregnant yet-”

“The point is,” Spencer interjected, “I need you to look nice that night. A lot of important people will be there, and I really want them to see you.”

Henry wasn’t comfortable with the idea of being surrounded by people Spencer worked with. He imagined them all to be vaguely similar to Spencer, and just one arrogant narcissist was more than enough for Henry to deal with. “What, uh, what kind of party is this? What would we be doing?”

Spencer waved a hand dismissively, “Oh just the usual. Socialize, drink some cocktails- well, not you, obviously, can’t be harming the little ones- other than that, just a bunch of people talking business. All you’ll need to worry about is smiling and looking pretty for everyone I introduce you to. No business talk required.”

“I don’t know,” Henry said, looking away shyly, “I wouldn’t fit in at an event like that...”

Spencer chuckled, though his jaw tensed in agitation. “I can’t just not bring you, what would everybody think?”

“You could tell them I’m sick,” Henry suggested with a lighthearted smile. “You may not be lying, depending on how I wake up feeling that day, y’know, pregnancy and all…”

“Henry, why can’t you just-” Spencer was beginning to grow agitated, but he stopped himself with a deep breath. “You’ll have a good time, I promise.” He opened his arms, gesturing for Henry to lay back down.

Sighing in defeat, Henry leaned against Spencer’s chest, the steady beating of the Alpha’s heart lulling him to sleep.

-

The day of the party, Henry awoke to find a new shirt folded neatly on his dresser, accompanied by a note that read: “Wear this.” He assumed Spencer had left it, and upon trying it on, Henry was relieved to find it was a very flattering shirt. The sage green complimented his dark skin perfectly, and the silver threaded pattern embroidered into the fabric added a classy touch that Henry appreciated very much. Spencer must have assumed that Henry’s favorite color was green, judging by the sudden spike in green-themed gifts. Henry wasn’t about to complain, though. Spencer did assume correctly.

Sooner than Henry would have liked, the downstairs grand foyer was filled with people. Everyone was dressed in formal attire, and just from scanning the room once Henry gathered that there was probably only a handful of Betas and Omegas. The majority of the group was comprised of Alphas, which made Henry incredibly uneasy.

Just as Henry was considering faking an illness and leaving, he was spotted by Spencer, who rushed over and dragged him towards a group of older Alphas. Their faces all lit up when they saw Henry, which made him feel only slightly better.

“Spencer, you sure do have impeccable taste in Omegas,” an elderly gentleman chuckled, giving Spencer a nod and Henry a wink.

Henry suppressed the urge to vomit. _’Good lord…’_

“I humbly agree,” Spencer said proudly, taking Henry’s hand in his own, “I just feel sorry for every other Alpha out there, they lost a once in a lifetime opportunity to claim the best of the best.”

Henry knew Spencer was only trying to show him off, but he couldn’t help but feel flattered by his words.

“Doesn’t he look stunning in green?” Spencer continued, looking Henry up and down. “Give us a little twirl, show everybody that your Alpha knows how to dress you up.”

“...Are you serious?” Henry deadpanned, giving Spencer a confused and vaguely disappointed look.

Spencer laughed, but gave Henry a rather forceful nudge, followed by a hushed, “Come on.”

Hesitantly, Henry spun around slowly, showing off his shirt as Spencer pointed out the intricate design. Henry felt humiliated as everyone stared at him, mentally comparing himself to cattle being auctioned off to eager farmers. _’Well, doesn’t give me a wonderful feeling of déjà vu…’_

“Now, am I mistaken, or did I hear tell about some pups you two are expecting?” A tall man beside Henry chimed in.

“You’re not mistaken at all,” Spencer chuckled gladly, “we’ll have ourselves some pups in just a few months. June, to be precise.”

“July,” Henry corrected.

“Ah, yes, July. That’s it.” Clearly not a fan of being proven wrong, Spencer gave Henry a disapproving look before his face quickly returned to a wide smile. “It feels a bit early in my career to be having my own pups, but I suppose I’ll be able to manage.”

The tall man directed his attention to Henry. “How old are you?”

“I’m, uh, I’m twenty-four, sir…” Henry stuttered, not at all prepared for such a question.

“Excellent,” the tall man said proudly, “better to breed an Omega while they’re young, my boy. You’ll get more children out of the young ones. Plus, the earlier you start, the more years you’ve got to get more pups out of ‘em. You made a wise decision, Spencer, starting a family now.”

Fighting back the urge to reach up and slap the man in the face, Henry pressed his lips together in a tight smile, silently praying the conversation would turn to a different topic.

“So how did you two meet?” an Alpha across from Henry interjected.

Happy to discuss anything but breeding young Omegas, Henry opened his mouth to answer, but before he could speak Spencer jumped in.

“We’ve known each other since we were children,” Spencer said enthusiastically.

“Oh, a childhood romance,” the redhead to Henry’s left sighed, a dreamy look in their eyes, “how wonderful!”

Henry shot Spencer a confused glance.

“Play along,” Spencer hissed through his forced smile.

“Have you always wanted to be Spencer’s Omega?” an older gentleman asked Henry.

“Uh…” Henry could sense Spencer eyeing him. “Oh yes,” Henry said, putting a hand over his heart dramatically, “ever since he made me that homemade Valentine’s day card in second grade I just knew I wanted to be his valentine for life.”

A chorus of laughter and ‘aw’s erupted. Spencer laughed loudest, slinging his arm around Henry. “It took you until second grade? I knew you’d be mine since the first day of Kindergarten when I laid eyes on you for the first time.”

“Well, you sure took your time, then,” Henry said as he playfully slapped Spencer on the arm.

Soon everyone around Henry was asking he and Spencer questions about their supposed young love. Henry struggled to keep up, but Spencer lied his way through their questions with ease, so eventually Henry let him do most of the talking.

As Henry looked around at the small crowd of people, he spotted Gordon eavesdropping nearby. The look on Gordon’s face made it clear he had heard everything; he was listening intently with an amused smile. When his eyes met Henry’s, he shook his head in disapproval, though he still had a slight smile on his face. Henry bit his lip as he tried not to laugh.

Eventually, the crowd dissipated, and Spencer was dragging Henry to the next group to introduce him. “I don’t think I can keep that entire story straight,” Henry said worriedly. “Why can’t we just tell them the truth?”

Spencer laughed, “And let everyone know I had to buy an Omega? No thank you.”

Henry’s brows furrowed. “You’re the one who-”

“Gentlemen,” Spencer announced, cutting Henry off, “allow me to introduce to you my beloved Omega.”

-

After countless introductions that all seemed to be identical to the last, Henry managed to slip away as Spencer discussed business with a small group of powerful looking Alphas. He wandered around for a bit before spotting Scot and Thomas amongst a large circle of Alphas and Betas. He quietly joined in, standing between two Alpha females directly across from Thomas.

“So I’m dying to know” the woman to Henry’s right spoke up, “what is the plan for pups?”

Scot smiled, putting his arm around Thomas. “We’re taking our time,” he said cheerfully, “no rushing these things, after all.”

“Surely you’re eager to start a family and carry on the Gresley name?”

“I’ve got a brother, I’ll make him do it.”

As everyone around them laughed, Henry couldn’t help but notice there was sadness behind Thomas’ weak smile. He made a mental note to check on him later.

Across the room, Gordon was relieved to notice Spencer was finally away from Henry, too occupied talking to some important looking people. Gordon took the opportunity and snagged Henry away, leading him down the hallway and around the corner until he was sure they were out of earshot of anyone who may happen to leave the room.

“What’s going on?” Henry asked, startled by Gordon acting so suddenly..

“I was about to ask you the same thing,” Gordon said, lowering his voice. “Known each other since you were children?”

“Trust me, I’m just as confused as you are.”

Realization suddenly hit Gordon, and his expression darkened. “That dirty, scumbag, son of a-” he combed his hand through his hair in anger before turning to Henry. “Do you realize what he’s doing?”

“...lying?”

Gordon rolled his eyes. “Well, yes, but don’t you understand why?”

Henry shook his head.

“He’s telling the story he wants everyone to believe, the story that paints the most flattering picture,” Gordon explained frantically. “The fantasy that you’ve wanted him for decades sounds much better than him getting desperate and having to pay for an Omega that has no choice in the matter, wouldn’t you say?”

“He didn’t seem to like the idea of telling the real story,” Henry recalled. “I asked him why we weren’t being truthful and he said ‘no thank you.’”

“And do you know what else he gets out of this?”

Henry shook his head again, the panic in Gordon’s tone making him nervous.

“He’s convincing everyone that you two have the perfect relationship,” Gordon explained, his brow wrinkled with worry. “The more people believe you two are happy together, the less likely anyone is to believe anything could possibly go wrong. If you ever decided to hold him accountable for what he’s done or possibly will do to you, who’s going to believe you?”

Henry’s stomach churned as Gordon went on:

“As far as everybody in that room is concerned, you’ve been head over heels for him for years now, and he’s been nothing but perfect to you. That’s what he wants- that’s what he _needs_ everybody to believe, because should he ever be faced with the threat of you pressing charges against him, he’s going to need as many people on his side as he can get.”

Henry massaged his temples as he took in everything Gordon was saying. Part of him knew Gordon may be on to something, but another part of him wanted to believe Spencer wasn’t as calculating as Gordon was assuming. “Maybe you’re looking too much into this-”

“Do you really want to take that chance?” Gordon pleaded, looking into Henry’s eyes desperately. “This could mean Spencer can do whatever he wants to you without any fear of meaningful consequence.”

Henry threw his hands up in defeat, “Well, what are we supposed to do? Go in there and announce to everyone that Spencer was just the highest bidder? Maybe while we’re at it we can tell them all the truth about the pups as well. That would go really well, I think.”

“As much as I wish we could do all of that,” Gordon sighed, “I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do now. Any chance of holding Spencer accountable for his actions just went out the window.” Frustrated, Gordon crossed his arms and paced the floor, muttering something about indignity under his breath.

As Henry watched Gordon, he could tell just from his body language that there was more he wanted to say. “Something else is bothering you,” Henry said sympathetically.

Taken aback, Gordon shook his head sternly. “No, there’s, uh, there’s nothing else, I just-”

“Please,” Henry looked up through his lashes, a move he knew made Gordon weak every time, “tell me?”

Gordon seemed to think it over for a moment before letting out an annoyed huff. “Seeing you being so casual and domestic with Spencer is just… not right. How can you be like that with him? You _hate_ him.” Seeing the hesitant look on Henry’s face, Gordon added, “Don’t you?”

“Of course I do,” Henry said defensively, “but…”

Gordon’s eyes narrowed. “But what?”

“It’s hard for me to be cold to him when he’s actually treating me with love and respect, for once,” Henry said sharply. “He’s far from perfect, but he’s getting better. I know you’re worried about him getting away with hurting me now that he’s told this, uh, weird story to everyone, but… he hasn’t done anything to hurt me since I’ve been pregnant, and he’s talking to me like I’m his partner, not his slave. I’m starting to have more respect and trust for him.”

Gordon’s eyes went wide with fear. “Henry, listen to me,” he said, placing his hands on Henry’s shoulders, “you can’t fall for this. Everything he’s doing, everything he says, it’s all just him trying to lure you in and give you a false sense of security. That’s all he does to anyone, he says what he needs to in order to gain trust, and then once you’ve made yourself vulnerable, he has his way with you.” He paused. “I fell for it. I fell for this trick for years before I learned to recognize the cycle. Even now, it’s hard to tell with him. I just keep my guard up at all times to be safe, and I suggest you do the same.”

Henry didn’t want to discredit Gordon, especially knowing what Spencer had put him through, but he wasn’t about to make assumptions. Henry sighed softly, “I understand why you’re concerned, but I really think Spencer’s starting to realize his mistakes. He’s changing, and he’s making an effort to change, too. He’s doing what he can to make me happy, including letting me keep these pups.”

Gordon tensed. “He wanted to get rid of them?”

“The timing wasn’t right,” Henry said, gently placing a hand on Gordon’s arm to calm him down. “He was worried about what direction his career would go if he had to raise children now, but I told him I really wanted these pups, and he relented. He knew how unhappy I’d be if he didn’t let me keep them.”

“He probably realized he could use them for publicity, that little bastard…” Gordon scoffed.

Henry’s eyebrows drew together in concern. “I know you have reason to distrust Spencer, but is it really so bad that he’s acting this way? I’m finally not afraid to be alone with him anymore. He’s treating me like an Alpha is supposed to treat an Omega, isn’t that a good thing?”

Gordon looked at Henry sadly, “I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

As Henry’s expression softened as he looked into Gordon’s eyes. “Are you worried that I’m not going to leave him, now that I’m happy with him?”

“Well, I mean- Yes, b-but only because-”

Silencing Gordon with a quick kiss, Henry giggled at the flustered look on his face. “These pups need you,” he said, “and we can’t raise them here. Even though I’m happy with Spencer now, I know it’s not going to last. We have to leave eventually. I’m just trying to enjoy my time here while it lasts.”

Gordon scoffed, “The idea of Spencer making any attempt to treat anyone better is laughable.”

Henry gave Gordon another kiss. “He may treat me better, but you treat me best.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to see how long I can go before I have to actually decide on what exactly the Gresley family business is, if you couldn't tell.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings for this chapter: Hoo boy... Rape/non-con, physical and verbal abuse, using sex as punishment.

Gordon dreaded long car rides. He always ended up silently staring out the window the entire time, bored out of his skull. Scot sat beside him, happily chatting with Thomas, and Gordon fought the urge to puke as he was forced to listen to the awful pet names Scot was constantly using. He felt grateful that Henry never insisted on saying mushy stuff like that.

Gordon sighed as his mind drifted to Henry. The further Henry’s pregnancy progressed, the more clingy Gordon felt. The idea of being away from Henry and the pups for an entire week made Gordon want to curl up and die, and having no way of discreetly contacting Henry without Spencer finding out only made Gordon feel worse.

Trying to focus on something more positive, Gordon daydreamed about the life he and Henry would have once they got away from Spencer. He smiled to himself as he thought about being free to sleep in the same bed, free to kiss any time they wanted to… Gordon looked forward to getting to live a normal, happy life with Henry and their children.

A sharp pang filled Gordon’s chest without warning, and he pressed a hand to his heart in shock. His mind was suddenly clouded with feelings of panic and worry. Gordon was alarmed, he’d never felt this way before, and he really didn’t like it. His heartbeat quickened and he had to steady his breathing. He focused on watching the trees as they sped past, silently willing the feeling to go away. He barely registered someone nudging him on the arm, and looked up when he realized he heard his name.

“ _Gordon_ ,” Scot said, for what Gordon guessed wasn’t the first time.

Gordon tried his best to look nonchalant. “What?”

“Are you feeling sick?” Scot said, his brows furrowed in worry, “Your face got a bit pale all of a sudden.”

“Were you watching me?” Gordon scoffed.

“Yes, after I heard your breath hitch and saw you grabbing your chest in obvious pain.”

Gordon rolled his eyes, turning back to look out the window.

Scot continued, “Everything all right?”

Just as Gordon was about to speak, he felt another wave of panic rising. He fought against it, but he could feel the color draining from his face as his body started to shiver. He managed to nod in response, gritting his teeth as his heart started beating even faster.

Scot watched Gordon anxiously. “Are you… having a panic attack?”

“No,” Gordon snapped, though he knew otherwise.

Scot wasn’t convinced. He raised a brow in suspicion, “Are you sure about that?”

Sighing in defeat, Gordon turned back to Scot. “Do you ever start to feel really worried about Thomas? Like maybe he’s hurt, or something happened to him?”

“Hm,” Scot pondered, “I get that feeling occasionally, but it’s not as intense as what it looks like you’re feeling right now. Are you worried about Henry?”

Gordon nodded, “But it feels like something is really, really wrong.” His body was still shaking lightly, as if a chill was running down his spine.

Seeing how distraught Gordon was, Scot did his best to comfort him. “I know it must be tough being separated from Henry and your pups for a week, but everything is going to be just fine. Feeling anxious is completely normal. I’d be more concerned if you were feeling fine.”

Gordon appreciated Scot’s efforts, but the feeling of dread continued to fester inside of him, and he doubted it would go away any time soon.

-

“Spencer, stop!” Henry cried, trying desperately to push Spencer off of him, “I don’t want the pups to get hurt, and if you keep being rough like this you might-“

Spencer sat up with an annoyed growl, his fists gripping the sheets in frustration. “It’s been weeks since we’ve fucked, dammit!”

“Do you know how dangerous it is for male Omegas to have sex while they’re pregnant?” Henry said, his expression serious. “The later in the pregnancy, the riskier it is. I’m already three months in, so having sex now could put these pups in danger.”

Spencer’s brow furrowed. “I’ve got needs, you know.”

“And I’ve got children in here,” Henry said in aggravation, pointing to his stomach. “I don’t want them to get injured just because you decide to get rough with me to satisfy your ‘needs.’ Until these pups are born, no sex. Period.”

“Well, what am I supposed to do?”

Henry snorted under his breath. It was nearly midnight, and he just wanted to go to sleep. Damn Spencer for waltzing in here with a boner at this hour. “Get a hooker,” Henry mumbled.

All of a sudden, Spencer grabbed Henry by the shoulders and pinned him to the mattress. “I swear to god, every fucking time you mouth off to me it makes me want to slap some goddamn humility into you,” Spencer spat. “If you hadn’t gotten yourself pregnant I’d have thrown your ass out on the street months ago at the first sign of your lack of respect, but since I’m stuck with you now, it seems I’ve got to take time out of my life to teach you how to act.”

Henry laid petrified as Spencer went on.

“You have only but a few obligations as my Omega, Henry. Very few, in fact, and yet you can’t even seem to manage those. One of those very few obligations includes tending to my needs in the bedroom, no questions asked. When I give the word you should be undressed with your legs spread in four seconds flat. It’s not that hard. Not only are you too inept to manage that, you feel the need to make my life difficult with your little witty comments, too. You think you’re so smart for someone too dense to do what they’re told. This should come naturally to you, so what the hell is wrong with you?!”

Tears pricked the corner of Henry’s eyes. He knew he shouldn’t let Spencer’s words get to him, but he couldn’t help but feel the sting of each insult. He looked away defiantly, determined to hide his pain from Spencer.

However, Spencer forcefully pinched Henry’s chin between his thumb and index finger, and turned the frightened Omega to look him in the eye. “Christ,” Spencer scoffed, “you must think I’m an idiot if you think that trick will work on me. You can cry all you want, but I’ve had enough. You’re not the innocent little angel you pretend to be. You’re just a brat with an attitude problem and a mouth that needs to be put to better use.”

Henry’s blood boiled, though he was too frightened to let it show.

“Get up,” Spencer commanded. He watched with piercing eyes as Henry moved quickly.

Scrambling to his feet, Henry’s body trembled in anticipation. He could practically feel Spencer’s eyes as they traveled along his body, and he wanted nothing more than to hide from the Alpha’s sights. Suddenly, Spencer was standing in front of him, staring at Henry with fierce intensity. “Down,” he said sternly, reaching down and unzipping his pants.

“I-I don’t... What are you-?”

“Your mouth still works, doesn’t it?” Spencer said as he roughly shoved Henry down onto his knees. “Can’t hurt the pups like this, can I?”

Too stunned to fight back, Henry gripped Spencer’s thighs to keep his balance. “Spencer, please-” Henry yelped as his hair was tugged, forcing him to look up at Spencer’s now exposed erection.

“Open,” Spencer said, his voice a low growl that made Henry’s heart lurch in fear.

Henry obeyed, and no sooner had he parted his lips did Spencer roughly shove his cock inside. Henry gagged as it hit the back of his throat in one swift motion. Willing himself to relax so as not to cause any additional discomfort, he let his jaw go slack as Spencer’s cock pumped in and out of his mouth at a brutal pace. Tears gathered in the corner of his eyes as he realized how helpless he truly was.

Spencer tangled one hand in Henry’s hair, holding the Omega’s head steady as his hips thrusted forward. With the other hand, he pulled his cell phone out of his back pocket. “I think I’ve got a way to get you to behave,” Spencer chuckled.

Though his vision was blurry with tears, Henry could see Spencer holding his phone in a position that alerted Henry that he was being recorded. He made a sound of protest, a muffled cry in his throat, but Spencer only laughed.

“Next time you think about getting sassy with me, think back to this moment. One more little slip up from you and I’ll put this on PornHub, where anyone and everyone can see what a good little cocksucker you are.” With a sickening grin, Spencer increased the pace of his thrusts.

Henry could feel his stomach churning at the thought of anyone seeing him like this. He shut his eyes, tears steadily streaming down his cheeks as he did so. The soreness in his jaw overcame him and the muscles in his face strained to keep his mouth open. He felt like a ragdoll, and he hated it. Another pained whine was drawn out of him when Spencer forced his cock down Henry’s throat, holding his head in place for a few seconds before resuming his thrusts.

“Fuuuuuck,” Spencer groaned, “that’s good, you’re being so good for me. Yeah, just like that…” He continued forcing Henry to deep-throat his cock, ignoring the Omega’s gags and muffled cries of protest.

Henry could barely breathe, and he focused all of his effort on taking breaths whenever he could. It provided a much needed distraction from his other senses, which were overwhelmed by Spencer’s ministrations. He tried his hardest to tune out Spencer’s voice above him, unable to stomach the noises he was making and the words he was saying. All Henry could do was silently sob as the assault seemed to go on endlessly.

Spencer scoffed, fisting his hand in Henry’s hair roughly. “Jesus, stop crying,” he demanded, “you deserve every fucking thing that’s coming to you after all the shit you’ve done to me. Maybe this’ll teach you your fucking place, on your knees for your Alpha.”

To his relief, Henry saw Spencer put his phone back in his pocket, and he soon felt the telltale twitch of Spencer’s cock that signaled his orgasm approaching. With the end finally in sight, Henry felt a boost of energy, and though his jaw throbbed in pain, he swallowed around Spencer's erection to coax the Alpha’s orgasm along quickly, eager to get everything over with.

Spencer threw his head back at the sensation, and his hips bucked wildly. With a low groan, he came down Henry’s throat, pulling Henry’s head forward and forcing the Omega to swallow everything and take his dick all the way down to the base.

Gagging fiercely, Henry gasped for air when Spencer finally let him go. He coughed as his throat and lungs ached from the rough treatment. Henry wanted nothing more than to make Spencer pay for every sleazy, no-good, manipulative thing like this he had ever done to anyone in his life, but all he could bring himself to do was keep his eyes to the floor as he struggled to catch his breath.

“I want you to remember this,” Spencer’s voice was low, partially from arousal and partially in warning. “If you even think about acting up again, I want you to remember this moment. I want you to remember how it feels to be put in your place. Don’t make me have to do it again. Understand?” When Henry didn’t respond, Spencer yanked his head back by his hair and forced Henry to look up at him. “ _Understand?_ ”

“Yes sir,” Henry whimpered, his eyes wide in fear.

“We’re going to spend the next week teaching you how to be a proper Omega. I should have done this months ago. I was too soft on you, allowing you to behave in such a disobedient way for so long. So, I’m going to fix this. Every day for the rest of the week at exactly five o’clock, you are to come to my office and suck me off. After you finish, you will silently wait for me to give you further instruction. Whether I tell you to leave, do it again, or bend over my desk, you will do as you are told.” Spencer’s eyes narrowed threateningly, “If you refuse, you will be properly punished. I won’t hesitate to find alternative methods to relieve myself, too, and I promise you won’t like them,” he said ominously.

_‘What ‘alternative methods’ could he possibly have?’_ Henry snickered to himself.

“I’ve got others who would consider themselves lucky to get fucked by me,” Spencer said, as if he could hear Henry’s thoughts, “They practically throw themselves at me whenever they see me. Some who may surprise you. I’d hate to have to indulge them just because you won’t put out for me, but if the need arises and you’re not there for me, well…” Spencer trailed off, raising his eyebrow suggestively.

_‘Is he… referring to Gordon…?’_ Henry’s breath hitched in alarm. He couldn’t let Spencer hurt Gordon any more. “No,” he said, a little too quickly, “you don’t have to, I’ll… I’ll do anything you want.” He felt sick as the words left his mouth.

“Anything?” Spencer’s brow quirked.

Henry hesitated. “Anything.”

Spencer crouched down, pinching Henry’s cheek condescendingly. “That’s a good Omega,” he smirked. “Now, is there anything you’d like to say to me?”

_‘Go fuck yourself.’_ Sighing in defeat, Henry looked up at Spencer. “Thank you,” he said weakly.

-

The next day, at exactly five, Henry stood in front of Spencer’s office door. His body was screaming at him to run away, begging him not to go through with this. But he knew if he did so, he wouldn’t be the only one facing consequences. Spencer’s veiled threat to him yesterday echoed in his mind, and Henry couldn’t fight the feeling that Spencer had been alluding to Gordon in regards to having ‘alternative methods.’

Not wanting to be late, Henry took a deep breath and entered. Determined to get through this as quickly as he could, he made a beeline to where Spencer sat on the couch beside the fireplace, refusing to look at what Henry assumed would be a very smug face.

“Right on time,” Spencer snickered.

Ignoring him, Henry got on his knees between Spencer’s parted legs and immediately worked on unbuttoning Spencer’s pants, struggling to get them undone quickly. Just as he was about to pull Spencer’s erection free, he was stopped.

“No need to rush, Henry,” Spencer chuckled, “slow down a little so I can enjoy this.”

Barely stopping himself from rolling his eyes, Henry sighed softly. “What would you like me to do?”

Spencer smirked, “For starters, call me ‘sir’ from now on.”

“What would you like me to do, _sir_?” Henry repeated through gritted teeth.

“Tell me something dirty.”

“...”

“Today, preferably,” Spencer sneered.

“Sorry, I’m just…” _’Trying not to vomit.’_ “trying to think of something.” Henry had never talked dirty in his life. He was already having enough trouble submitting to Spencer, but now he had to take it even further? Unbelievable.

Spencer leaned back lazily. “Well then, I’ll help you out a little.” He reached down and pulled out his cock, “What do you think?”

Henry’s face flushed, “It’s… nice.”

Spencer stifled a laugh. “The nicest one you’ve seen?”

Henry hesitated. “Considering yours is the only one I’ve seen, yes, it is indeed the nicest one I’ve seen.”

Spencer rolled his eyes. “You could’ve left that part out,” he snorted.

“Sorry,” Henry said sheepishly. Suddenly, he had an idea. “But aren’t you glad that I’ve only ever done things like this with you?”

A smug smile tugged at Spencer’s lips. “Well, when you put it that way…”

Feeling more confident, Henry continued, “You’re the only one I’ve ever done this with, the only one who’s touched my body and made me feel so good.” A pleased groan from Spencer encouraged Henry to continue, “You’re the only one I’ve ever come for.” Henry pressed a kiss to the base of Spencer’s cock, earning him another low groan. “Your cock is the only one I’ve ever tasted,” he said, licking a wet stripe from the base of Spencer’s dick all the way to the tip.

Spencer stroked Henry’s hair posessively, “I’m the only one you’ll ever need.”

“You’re the only one I’ll ever need,” Henry parroted, gently kissing the head of Spencer’s dick, “sir.”

“ _Christ_ ,” Spencer hissed.

Getting tired of dirty talking, Henry took Spencer’s cock into his mouth, his eyes locked onto Spencer’s as he did so. The Alpha’s face was lit up in ecstasy instantly, a string of moans slipping past his lips.

Encouraged by Spencer’s reaction, Henry kept going, keeping a quick but steady pace. He could feel Spencer pulling on his hair to get him to ease up, but Henry persisted, taking Spencer in as far as he could with each dip of his head. He wanted to finish as quickly as he could, he already felt humiliated enough as it was already.

“Slow down, Henry,” Spencer growled, a hint of anger in his voice.

Henry fought with every ounce of strength the urge to give Spencer the middle finger. Not wanting to get into trouble, he willed himself to slow his movements. Bobbing his head at half the speed as he was before, Henry tried thinking of ways he could speed up the process without alerting Spencer he was doing so. With a pang of dread, he realized that the limited options he had weren’t exactly going to be pleasant. Still, he figured he may as well try. Henry looked up at Spencer through his lashes and put on his most submissive, puppy-dog demeanor he could muster, knowing it would likely drive Spencer crazy.

Henry was correct, and the low growl Spencer emitted confirmed this further. Spencer’s fingers threaded in Henry’s hair as he pushed down ever so slightly, encouraging the Omega to take him in further. Henry obeyed, going down as far as he could physically go, ignoring his throat’s protests. He pulled back with a gasp, his eyes locked onto Spencer’s as he stroked Spencer’s cock. “Am I doing a good job?” Henry asked as innocently as he could stomach.

“Fuck,” Spencer droned, his head tipping back in ecstasy, “you’re doing such a- _fuck_ , such a good job.”

As much as it sickened Henry, he couldn’t help but feel a slight swell of pride at Spencer’s praise. He still hated everything that was happening at the moment, receiving praise only meant that Spencer was pleased with him, and when Spencer was pleased with him that meant less of a chance of Henry being on the receiving end of his anger. Henry resumed sucking on Spencer’s length, hoping Spencer would remain pleased with him for the rest of the week.

“Hhah-nn, g-god…” Spencer gasped, 

“Shit, _shit_ ,” Spencer hissed, his hips jerking forward, “fuuuck yes, just like that, yes, _yes_ -”

Henry was caught off guard by the sudden sensation of something thick and wet going down his throat. He swallowed instinctively, surprised that Spencer had come that quickly. He waited until Spencer’s dick had stopped twitching before leaning back and wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve. Remembering Spencer’s warning to him the previous night, Henry sat on his knees in silence, watching Spencer as he came down from his post-orgasm high.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, Spencer looked down at Henry and quirked a brow. “What?”

Henry bit his lip, remaining silent with his eyes on Spencer. He cut his eyes away in a sort of ‘You know…’ gesture.

“Oh,” Spencer said as realization hit him, “right, um... that’ll be all for tonight. You’re free to go.”

-

The process repeated the following day. Henry arrived at Spencer’s office at exactly five and got to work quickly. This time however, after Henry finished and waited quietly for Spencer’s instruction, there was a predatory glint in the Alpha’s eyes. “Go sit on the edge of my desk,” Spencer commanded.

Henry would never admit it, but something about Spencer’s commanding, arousal-laced voice made his chest flutter. He obeyed quicky, his eyes watching Spencer as he stood and stepped closer to Henry.

Spencer placed his hands on Henry’s shoulders, trailing them down his chest and then back up. He leaned down to whisper in Henry’s ear. “I want to feel your beautiful body,” he purred, yanking Henry’s sweater off and tossing it aside. “I want to feel every inch of your skin, I want to caress every curve… I want to touch what’s mine.”

Henry shivered as Spencer’s cold hands felt along his neck and collarbone, trailing down to touch along his chest. His fingers danced lower and lower until they came to the small bump of Henry’s stomach. He traced his fingertips along the firm, smooth skin, his touch surprisingly gentle. Looking up, Henry saw that the hunger in Spencer’s eyes had been replaced by awe.

“Beautiful,” Spencer said under his breath, and Henry wondered if he meant to say it out loud.

Without even thinking, Henry leaned in and pressed his lips to Spencer’s. Why he felt compelled to kiss him, Henry had no idea. All he knew was that the way Spencer tenderly returned the kiss while rubbing small circles against Henry’s swollen stomach gave him a warm, pleasant feeling. Humming contently, Henry drapped an arm around Spencer’s neck, instinctively spreading his legs as Spencer stepped closer. Henry moaned when he felt the heat of Spencer’s erection against the junction where his thigh met his crotch.

When Spencer pulled back from the kiss, his eyes had returned to their former predatory expression. “Mine,” he snarled posessively.

Without warning, Henry was pushed down onto his back, his legs hanging off the edge of the desk with Spencer nestled between them. Henry’s heart stopped when he realized his pants were being tugged off. He opened his mouth to speak, but quickly shut it when he received a stern look from Spencer.

“One word about the pups and you’ll regret it,” Spencer warned, his voice threateningly low.

“But-”

“Remember what I told you, Henry.”

Though frightened, Henry nodded and kept his mouth shut.

In one quick motion, Spencer buried his cock fully inside Henry, moaning at the sensation. He gave a few shallow thrusts, his hands gripping tightly onto Henry’s hips to hold him in place.

Even with jolts of pleasure shooting through his body, Henry couldn’t keep his mind off of the pups. The whole time Spencer fucked him, Henry was on high alert, paranoid about every action and desperately doing whatever he could to keep his pups safe while trying his hardest not to anger Spencer. Henry kept his hands pressed flat against Spencer’s chest. He didn’t want Spencer’s weight to come down onto his stomach and squish them. For that matter, Henry didn’t really want to be squished by Spencer’s weight himself.

At last, Spencer’s hips began to buck erratically as his orgasm overtook him. He leaned down and locked his lips onto the side of Henry’s neck, sucking hard enough to leave an angry red bruise. As he emptied himself inside of Henry, his knot grew bigger and his thrusts grew slower, until he could no longer move.

Knowing they would be stuck for a while, Henry resigned himself to laying back and silently waiting. He giggled when he felt a tickling sensation on his stomach, and when he looked down he saw Spencer trailing his fingers along the sides.

Spencer looked up when he realized he was being watched. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

“You don’t have to stop,” Henry said quietly, unsure if he was allowed to speak, “it just tickles, that’s all.”

“Oh,” Spencer said as he resumed feeling Henry’s stomach, taking care not to touch Henry’s ticklish spots. His expression melted into a soft smile, “I can’t believe you still look so… small. I expected you to have grown a bit more in three months.”

“Give it time, I’ll be huge soon enough,” Henry giggled. Seeing Spencer so calm and gentle comforted Henry. Even if Henry had to comply to Spencer’s ridiculous rules and expectations, it was worth it to keep Spencer like this. Maybe if Henry pleased Spencer enough he wouldn’t have to worry about the Alpha mistreating him anymore. Henry felt a weight lift from his shoulders at the thought.

-

A few more days passed, and Henry was starting to get used to his evening routine with Spencer. He even started to enjoy himself, grateful that Spencer wasn’t being too rough with him. Spencer even spent one evening cuddling with Henry as a reward for his good behavior.

On the last day, Henry finished the routine blowjob and was surprised when Spencer took him by the hand without warning and guided him so he was bent over the back of the couch.

Spencer smirked, kissing up the side of Henry’s neck. “How would you like to be bent over and fucked senseless?” he whispered.

“As much as I’d love that, I don’t think that would be a good idea,” Henry said, adding a hasty “sir.”

“And why’s that?” Spencer purred in his ear

“Well, my stomach…” Henry trailed off, hoping Spencer would take the hint without getting upset.

Spencer’s smile faded. “What did I say about keeping quiet about the pups?”

Realizing his mistake, Henry’s face paled. “I-I’m sorry sir, I just- I’m worried, sir, if they’ll be okay-” he was cut off by Spencer giving his backside a harsh smack. Henry might have enjoyed the sensation if Spencer hadn’t looked so angry.

“Quiet,” Spencer said sternly, “they’re going to be fine. All you should be thinking about is pleasing your Alpha. You’re making very good progress, Henry, and I expect you’ll be a proper Omega in no time if we keep this up. Soon you’ll be begging for me to fuck you.”

“You wish,” Henry mumbled under his breath.

Spencer’s expression turned dark. He pressed Henry against the back of the couch with such force that it made Henry’s ribs sore. “Care to repeat that?” he said through gritted teeth.

Henry paled. He hadn’t meant for Spencer to hear him. “Not really…” he said hesitantly. He cried out in shock and pain as Spencer yanked him up and slapped him across the face.

“You’ve got some nerve, speaking to me like that,” Spencer seethed. “God damn it, how many times do I need to teach you this lesson?!”

Henry said nothing, clutching his stinging cheek and refusing to look at Spencer.

“You were doing so well, too,” Spencer grumbled, angrily stuffing his hands in his pockets. “What the hell happened?”

A knock on the door interrupted them and made Henry feel relieved, but the relief was short lived when Spencer only grew angrier. The door cracked open, and Mavis stepped inside. “I have a- oh…” Mavis trailed off when she saw Spencer’s visible anger. Her eyes jumped over to Henry holding his cheek and cowering in fear, and her expression fell. “Am I, uh, interrupting something?”

“For fuck’s sake, what is it?” Spencer snapped, startling both Mavis and Henry.

“I’m so sorry, I- I seem to have forgotten why I came in here.” Slowly backing out of the room, Mavis’ eyes darted over to Henry in a silent apology.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Henry put some distance between he and Spencer, bracing himself to run or fight if he needed to.

As the door shut, Spencer angrily stormed back behind his desk. “Idiot,” he grumbled, “I ought to have her fired.”

Waiting silently as Spencer resumed working, Henry realized that Spencer had completely forgotten about their earlier argument. Not about to remind him, Henry slowly made his way across the room towards the door, but Spencer’s sharp voice stopped him.

“Did I say you could leave?”

Henry froze, and his heart leapt into his throat. “I thought-”

“Sit. Down. Now.”

Before he knew what he was doing, Henry scrambled to take a seat on the chair a few feet away, as if his brain switched to autopilot. Never in his life had he ever done something an Alpha told him without even having to think about it. He chalked it up to just being afraid of what Spencer would do to him if he didn’t do it.

Henry waited obediently, his hands folded in his lap. Spencer was leaning back in his chair, staring out the window, his hands lazily resting behind his head. “Tell me Henry,” he said, “What have I done to you that’s made you hate me so much?”

“...You really don’t know?”

Spencer sighed. “I’m asking you, aren’t I?”

Henry knew it was a loaded question, but he felt brave. “Do you want the honest answer or the answer that won’t make you angry?”

With an annoyed huff, Spencer leaned against his hand, looking at Henry with an expression Henry couldn’t quite read. “Just tell me,” he said, sounding almost apologetic.

Henry looked down his lap as he answered, unable to force himself to look at Spencer out of fear. “When I first met you, you promised to take care of me and treat me right, and I was drawn to you by how kind you were, for someone who bought me from an auction. I thought you were an Alpha I could grow to love, once we got to know each other a little more. I was crushed when you didn’t keep your promise. Yeah, you gave me some nice things, and I’m grateful for that, but none of that mattered as much as the way you treated me. You did horrible things to me, using your Alpha status as an excuse and my Omega status as a reason. I know Alphas and Omegas have different brain chemistries and instincts, but I know not all Alphas are hard-wired to behave the way you have. Being an Alpha isn’t an excuse to abuse someone.”

Looking up, Henry felt a sense of relief that Spencer didn’t appear angry. Instead, Spencer was watching him, his expression pensive. “Have you grown to love me at all?”

Henry had to think for a moment, and his stomach was in knots as he realized his answer. “Yes…”

“You’re lying,” Spencer scoffed, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Henry wished he was. “I’m not lying,” he said, “I really did love you, when you started treating me better after I told you I was pregnant. But I’d be lying if I said I loved you now. How could I love you, after everything you’ve done to me lately?”

Spencer rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “If you don’t feel any love for me anymore, then what _do_ you feel?”

Henry was skeptical, but figured he might as well keep telling Spencer the truth. What could it hurt? Henry took a deep breath. “Fear…” he said quietly. Watching Spencer for his reaction, Henry watched as his expression turned apologetic. Henry’s heart raced as Spencer stood and crossed the room, stopping when he stood in front of Henry.

Spencer sighed, trying to find the right words. “I don’t want you to be afraid of me, I just want you to respect me.”

“Treating me the way you’ve been treating me recently hasn’t made me respect you at all,” Henry said, hoping Spencer wouldn’t get angry at him for saying so. “It’s only made me resent you. This past week I only tried so hard to please you so you wouldn’t punish me like you threatened to do.”

Spencer ran his fingers through his hair in agitation. “I’m only doing this to fix you, Henry. I… I love you too much to let you behave the way you have been.”

“No you don’t.”

“...Pardon?”

“You don’t love me.” Henry looked up at Spencer sadly, “If you really loved me you wouldn’t think I needed to be fixed.”

Spencer was silent, his eyes never leaving Henry’s. Henry searched Spencer’s expression for any clue to what he was thinking, but the Alpha was unreadable. In that moment, Henry could sense there was something unspoken between them, though he couldn’t quite place what.

Just as it looked like Spencer was about to speak, the door cracked open, and Daisy stuck her head inside. “Pardon me,” she said, “but I need to speak to Henry alone.”

“And what’s so important that you can’t discuss it in front of me?” Spencer snorted.

Daisy narrowed her eyes, staring at Spencer challengingly. “It involves Henry’s health, sir, and I’m not at liberty to share his personal information.” She looked over to Henry, “If you could just come with me for a couple minutes, this shouldn’t take too long at all.”

Looking over to Spencer for his reaction, Henry saw his face remained pensive, and he nodded at Henry in approval. Henry got up and followed Daisy out the door and down the hall, shutting the door behind him on the way out.

“Is everything okay?” he asked worriedly.

“Oh, everything’s perfectly fine,” Daisy said with a wave of her hand, “Poor Mavis came running up to me begging me to help her get you out of there. She told me you looked like you wanted to be anywhere else, that you and Spencer were fighting when she went in there a few minutes ago, so she asked me to come up with a cover to get you out of there. Gave us a nasty fright for a minute, but there’s nothing for you to worry about, dear.”

Henry smiled. He felt incredibly grateful to Mavis and made a mental note to thank her later. “I really owe you one,” he laughed.

“Don’t mention it,” Daisy smiled, “you’re free to go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact! There's a line that's a nod to the first porn video I ever saw, an old 70's porn called "Alice In Wonderland: an X-rated musical comedy." I watch it for laughs now because it's just so bad, but back when I first saw it I thought it was the most scandalous thing. I wish I was kidding.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this chapter is so late, I just had an unexpected episode of depression and it really rocked my world. Apologies if this chapter isn't that great, it's weird going back through and finishing a chapter after taking such a long break.
> 
> Trigger warnings for this chapter: Brief mentions of abuse

Knocking on the door to Scot and Thomas’ bedroom, Henry hoped Thomas was in there. He finally had a chance to talk to Thomas alone about what happened at the party, and he hoped it would mend things between them. He hated that Thomas was upset with him, and he hoped he wouldn’t be making things worse.

The door swung open, and Thomas looked surprised to see Henry. “...Hi,” he said hesitantly.

“I know you’re not happy with what’s going on with Gordon and I, but I’d like to talk to you about something.” Henry glanced down to Thomas’ pajama pants, “If you’re free, of course.”

Running a hand through his hair, Thomas sighed. “If this is about Gordon, I don’t want to talk it.”

“Actually, it’s about you.”

“...Oh.” Though skeptical, Thomas motioned for Henry to enter.

Henry followed Thomas over to a loveseat in the corner by the window and sat down. “I know this will be kind of out of the blue, but at the party last week, I noticed you seemed kind of… off, when the subject of having children was brought up.”

Thomas shifted uncomfortably, and Henry continued.

“That, combined with everything you said to me about Spencer giving me children has me worried… is everything going well with you and Scot?”

Thomas turned and looked out the window, his arms and legs crossed defensively.

Seeing Thomas’ discomfort, Henry decided he wouldn’t press further. “If you don’t want to talk, that’s fine, I just wanted to make sure you were-“

“Scot doesn’t want children,” Thomas said, cutting Henry off.

Henry blinked. “Oh… and you do want children, don’t you?”

Thomas nodded sadly.

Everything suddenly made sense. “I’m so sorry,” Henry said comfortingly, “is he certain-?”

“Yes, he told me he doesn’t want any.”

“Why?” Henry asked, though he knew he probably shouldn’t.

Thomas shrugged, chuckling forcefully. “Who’s to say? Last time we talked about it he said he wasn’t ready for the responsibility, but when I asked if he ever would be, he laughed and changed the subject. I’ve told him countless times how much I want to have his pups, but every time I try to change his mind he just… won’t listen. He’s had me on the most effective birth control implant for over a year now, so there’s not even a chance of having some by accident.”

Henry could see pain in Thomas’ expression as he continued.

“I know it’s not every Omega’s dream to have an Alpha’s pups,” Thomas said, his expression weary, “but it’s mine. Seeing you living my dream hurts, I won’t lie.” Thomas sighed, “But I shouldn’t have gotten so upset with you.”

“You don’t have to apologize, really. Now that I know how badly you want children, it must have been hard for you seeing that, especially not knowing the entire situation…”

“I imagine Spencer treating you the way he does is harder to deal with than jealousy,” Thomas said, looking over at Henry knowingly.

Henry shifted uncomfortably. “I guess Scot told you everything, huh?”

Thomas nodded. “I never thought Spencer would do stuff that. I’ve known him for a few years now and he never seemed like the kind of person to treat an Omega like they were…” Thomas paused as he searched for the right word.

“Property?” Henry filled in.

“Yeah, that.”

“Well, that would make two of us,” Henry sighed. His mind wandered to Gordon. “There’s a lot of things Spencer has done that would surprise you…”

Thomas hummed thoughtfully. “I guess it’s a good thing you’re not carrying his pups, then.”

Henry nodded solemnly.

“Gordon might be an arrogant asshole that gets on my last nerve, but I think he’ll make a great father. He seems to really care about you,” he glanced down at Henry’s stomach, “all of you.”

A smile slowly spread across Henry’s face. “I think so too.”

“Scot would make a great father, too…” Thomas sighed sadly. There was a moment of silence before Thomas gave Henry a cheeky smile. “Promise you’ll let me hold yours when they’re born?”

“Of course,” Henry grinned, “I’ll probably need all the help I can get with four pups anyway, so I’ll gladly let you take care of them any time you want.”

“Four?!” Thomas exclaimed.

Happy to be on good terms with Thomas again, Henry chatted happily with him about the pups for the rest of the evening.

-

As Henry laid in bed drifting off to sleep, the sound of his bedroom door closing startled him. Quickly sitting up, he saw Spencer walking over to stand by the bed. He looked like he was trying to find the words he wanted to say, and Henry watched him curiously.

After a few moments of silence, Spencer cleared his throat, shifting in place awkwardly. “I was going to say something earlier, but you never came back. Is now a good time? I know it’s late, but…”

Henry nodded for Spencer to continue.

Spencer sighed and looked out the window. “I want to love you,” he said, his voice low. “I really do, but it’s… it’s hard to love you, when we’re always butting heads like this. I want our relationship to be perfect. Part of the reason I didn’t want anybody at that party knowing I bought you is because studies have shown that relationships between an Alpha and an Omega that was purchased are more likely to fail. I can see now that that study was correct, but I didn’t want people just assuming we weren’t going to work out when they learned that I purchased you.” The soft moonlight coming in through the gap in the curtain illuminated Spencer’s face, and Henry could see genuine concern in his expression.

“Honestly, I thought it was just a pride thing,” Henry shrugged. “I’d understand if it was. It seems to run in the family.”

“That may have been a factor as well,” Spencer chuckled, his eyes twinkling in amusement, and Henry’s heart fluttered at the sight. Spencer’s smile faded as he continued, “My point is, I don’t like the way things are between us. I’m trying everything I can to fix things, but you’re just so difficult for me to understand…” Spencer sighed, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Why do you want me, anyway?” Henry asked, crossing his arms and staring at Spencer challengingly. “If I’m really so difficult, why do you keep me around?”

Spencer looked to Henry. “Well, why wouldn’t I keep you around? You’re gorgeous. From the moment I saw you, I was instantly attracted to you, and I had to have you.” Spencer smiled, giving Henry’s hand a gentle kiss. “You’re the most beautiful Omega I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

“And?”

Spencer blinked. “...And?”

“Is that it?” Henry huffed, “Is that the only reason you want me?”

“Of course not,” Spencer said, his jaw dropping in shock. He stuttered as he tried to think of what to say, “You’ve- uh, you’re very nice, and… funny-”

Henry rolled his eyes. “Spencer, get real.”

Shutting his mouth, Spencer looked down at his lap as Henry continued.

“What else do I offer you besides my looks? What about me have you decided is worth keeping me around, even though you’re hardly ever happy with me? What do you see in me that meets your requirements for the type of Omega you want to spend the rest of your life with?”

Spencer pondered his answer for a few moments. “I want what any Alpha wants… a pretty Omega who’s content with living a domestic life. I want them to respect me, submit to me, and make me happy. I want to protect them and spoil them, and all I want in return is for them to be obedient and to trust that I know what’s best for them.” Spencer turned to Henry, “Isn’t that the kind of relationship all Alphas and Omegas want?”

Henry shook his head. “You can’t just assume all Alphas and Omegas want the same thing.”

“That’s all I’ve ever been taught,” Spencer said hesitantly, “and it’s all I’ve wanted for as long as I can remember. Growing up, my parents never let me have much control over anything in my life, and now that I’m an adult, I want that control back. I need an Omega who can let me feel like a real Alpha for once in my life.”

Henry snorted. “No Omega wants an Alpha who uses the phrase ‘feel like a real Alpha’ seriously.”

Spencer turned to Henry, “What exactly do you want, then?”

“Oh, um…” Henry was taken aback by the question. He hadn’t expected Spencer to ever ask about what he wanted. “I just want someone who makes me happy and loves me. I can’t be submissive all the time. If I’m going to be submissive, it’ll be because I want to be, not through force. I want somebody who respects that, not somebody who expects me to conform to their idea of what an Omega should be.”

Spencer gave a thoughtful ‘hmph’ and crossed his arms. “I can see that,” he mumbled.

“Look,” Henry sighed, “we obviously want different things from each other.”

Spencer nodded.

Henry continued, “And we can’t both get what we want.”

Spencer nodded again.

Suddenly, Henry realized this was a perfect opportunity. If he could convince Spencer that things between them wouldn’t work out, maybe Spencer would agree to let him go, then Henry wouldn’t have to worry about finding a way to escape to be with Gordon, which would make everything a lot easier.

Henry cleared his throat awkwardly, “Maybe we should just face the music.”

Spencer turned to face him, raising a brow in question. “What do you mean?”

“There isn’t much we can do to make things work between us. No matter what we do, one of us will be unhappy, even if we try to compromise. I think…” Henry paused for dramatic effect, “I think we should just accept that we’re not meant to be together and move on. You’ll find someone perfect for you, and I’ll find someone perfect for me. Wouldn’t you rather that, than continue to struggle to make this relationship work?” He looked up at Spencer hopefully, trying not to seem too eager.

“No.”

Henry’s smile fell. “Oh…”

“Because that would mean I’d lose my pups too,” Spencer continued. “Besides, if I called it quits between us, I’d have to sell you back to the people I bought you from to get my money back, and you wouldn’t want to go back to them, would you?”

Shuddering at the memories, Henry shook his head. He wanted so badly to tell Spencer that the pups weren’t his if it meant his plan would work, but the risk of Spencer getting angry was one Henry wasn’t willing to take.

Seeing Henry’s troubled look, Spencer took the Omega’s hands in his and looked into his eyes sincerely. “I’m going to do whatever it takes to fix things. I can’t just let my Omega and my pups slip between my fingers.”

 _’That’s what I was afraid of…’_ Henry thought sadly.

-

“So, can you tell me what’s in there?” Henry asked excitedly as he lay on the examination table.

Daisy hummed thoughtfully as she poked and prodded around Henry’s stomach with some kind of medical equipment. Her gaze flickered over to the small black and white screen beside them. “I could, if this thing decided to work-” She gave an excited gasp when some vaguely fetus shaped white spots appeared on the monitor, which she pointed to excitedly. “There they are!”

A warm feeling blossomed in Henry’s chest as he finally got to see his children for the first time. “How can you tell their gender and class?”

“Well, we won’t know the class until we get the results of the blood test, and that could take another hour or so. But, I can take a closer look here and tell you the genders right now.”

Henry’s heart leapt with excitement. He watched as Daisy squinted at the screen, moving her hand across Henry’s stomach in an attempt to get a better look. With a final hum, she turned to Henry and smiled, pointing to the screen. “Two girls and two boys.”

Henry beamed. “Really?”

“Unless they figure out otherwise when they get older.”

Pride and joy overcame Henry upon hearing the news. “I can’t wait to tell Gordon,” he said with a bright smile.

“Funny you should mention that,” Daisy smirked, looking past Henry at the door.

Before Henry could turn around, he heard a deep voice behind him. “Two of each, huh?”

Craning his neck, Henry gave Gordon an excited kiss on the cheek. “You’re back early!” he gasped.

“Indeed,” Gordon chuckled, “You had me worried so sick Scot sent me home before I got any worse.”

Henry’s smile fell, and he spun around to face Gordon. “You were worried about me?” he said softly.

Gordon’s smile faded as well, and he nodded, helping Henry off of the examination table. “Are you okay?” he asked, looking up at Daisy. “Is everything all right with the pups?”

“They’re all perfectly healthy,” Daisy said reassuringly, “everything is going very smoothly. Don’t you worry, dear.”

Gordon looked back down to Henry. “What about you then? Did something happen while I was gone?”

“What makes you think something happened?” Henry said nervously.

“I just…” Gordon looked away sadly and sighed, “I kept getting this feeling you were in danger. It made me physically sick. Scot told me my face looked very pale, and I kept spacing out.”

“Oh god,” Henry whispered, “I’m so sorry…”

Gordon looked into Henry’s eyes pleadingly, placing his hands firmly on his shoulders. “Did something happen to you while I was gone?”

Knowing there was no point in lying to Gordon, Henry gave a small nod.

Gordon’s expression hardened. “I knew it,” he mumbled, “I knew something wasn’t right. What did he do to you?”

“Who?”

“Come on, Henry, who else?” Gordon snapped, rage burning behind his eyes, “I know it was Spencer. What did he fucking do?”

Henry started to speak, but he stopped himself. He looked over to Daisy, who looked like she would rather be anywhere else at the moment. She gave him a sympathetic look, which Gordon caught.

“Damn it, someone tell me, what did he do?!” Gordon shouted, looking back and forth between Henry and Daisy, desperate for an answer.

“We can talk about that later,” Henry said, taking Gordon’s hands in his own, brushing his thumb over them in an attempt to calm him down. “I don’t really feel like talking about it right now. It was… a lot. Right now I just want to spend some time with you to help me forget about the past week.”

Frustrated tears pooled in the corners of Gordon’s eyes. “I can’t stand having to sit back and let all of this happen to you. I hate that there’s nothing I can do about any of this.”

Without saying a word, Henry pulled Gordon into a tight hug, burying his face into the Alpha’s shirt and inhaling his comforting scent. He felt Gordon’s strong arms wrap around him, and Henry melted at the sensation.

“So,” Gordon said, releasing Henry, “have you thought any more about Scot’s offer?”

Henry’s smile quickly vanished. Everything that happened between him and Spencer for the past week flooded his mind, filling him with sadness and anger. Remembering what Scot told him about helping him and Gordon get away from Spencer, he realized he didn’t have to think about it anymore. Looking up at Gordon with a determined stare, Henry nodded. “I’m in.”

“Sorry to interrupt,” Daisy piped in, holding a piece of paper in her hands, “but I’ve got the results of the blood test if you’d like to know the pups’ classes.”

Gordon’s heart stopped, and Henry nodded eagerly.

“All right,” Daisy began, chuckling at the pair’s reactions, “you’ve got one Omega boy, one Beta girl, and two Alphas, one boy and one girl.”

Gordon’s face lit up instantly. “Oh my god,” he said softly.

“I’ve always wanted a Beta,” Henry sighed, clutching a hand to his heart tenderly.

“Two Alphas… I guess the Gresley family really is an Alpha factory.” 

“And an Omega, too.”

“We’ve got a full set,” Gordon said in disbelief. The thought made Gordon’s heart swell with pride, and he pulled Henry into his arms, peppering his cheeks with kisses.

Henry squealed happily, wrapping his arms around Gordon and basking in the happiness of the moment, never wanting the feeling to go away.

-

“Thomas!” Henry cried, pounding furiously on Scot and Thomas’ bedroom door. “Thomas, come quick!”

Yanking the door open, Thomas’ eyes widened when he saw Henry’s panicked expression. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Scot,” Henry panted, exhausted from running all the way upstairs, “something’s happened, and he said he needs you, _now_.”

Thomas’ face paled. “I thought he wasn’t supposed to be back until-”

“Just come quick!” Grabbing Thomas by the wrist, Henry ran off with him downstairs.

-

“Happy birthday!” cheered a chorus of voices, stopping Thomas in his tracks. It took him a moment to process what was happening, but when he did, he turned and glared at Henry.

“We wanted to surprise you.”

“Jerks! All of you!” Thomas said as he swatted Henry on the arm, who just giggled. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again!”

Scot laughed, walking over and slinging an arm around Thomas’ shoulders. “Just focus on the fact that I managed to get out of a very important trip to be with you on your birthday,” he said, pressing a kiss to Thomas’ forehead.

Thomas grinned excitedly, “I know, I can’t believe it! Not even my own brother would do something like that for me.”

Scot stared at Thomas in disbelief. “You have a brother?”

Thomas continued, “How did you all know it was my birthday?”

“You have a _brother_?” Scot said again.

“How could we not?” Spencer scoffed, “It’s all Scot’s been talking about for the past week.”

Henry gave Thomas a playful nudge on the arm. “Come on, let’s get you your first legal drink.”

Scot looked around, throwing his hands up in exasperation. “I guess I’m the only one shocked at this news, then.”

Everyone gathered in the kitchen and passed out various bottles and cans. Thomas gladly accepted the can Scot handed to him, giving his Alpha a grateful kiss. Spencer struggled to pry open the cap on his beer, which Gordon watched out of the corner of his eye and struggled to hold in his laughter.

“Stupid, goddam, piece of…” Spencer swore under his breath.

Henry and Gordon both exchanged amused glances.

“Henry,” Spencer said, still struggling in vain to twist the cap off, “be a darling and go get the bottle opener I keep in my bedside drawer, will you?”

“Sure thing,” Henry said with a smile.

“You’re an angel,” Spencer cooed, pulling Henry in by the waist and giving him a long kiss.

Henry giggled in surprise when Spencer finally let him go. However, he didn’t miss the annoyed twitch in Gordon’s eyebrow as he ran off upstairs to Spencer’s room.

-

“Well that was easy,” Henry said as he plucked the bottle opener out of the drawer. He gave the mess inside a curious once over before shutting it.

As Henry headed towards the door, however, he felt a strange sensation in his abdomen. His mind immediately went to the pups and he started to panic, but when he felt it again, he realized it was something different, something instinctive. Without thinking, he looked back to the bedside table with suspicion. Something was telling him he needed to take a closer look inside that drawer.

As if a force was physically pulling him, Henry walked over to Spencer’s nightstand without thinking and opened the drawer again, setting the bottle opener down on Spencer’s bed and carefully rooting through the contents of the drawer. Just as he about to shut the drawer when something colorful caught his eye. Pulling it out curiously, he saw it was a pair of red lace panties. Henry dropped them quickly back in the drawer with a startled gasp. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a folded scrap of paper tucked into the back of the drawer underneath where the panties had been. Henry pulled it out and inspected it closer. It was a receipt, and the date stamped onto it was only a week old. Turning it over, his heart plummeted when he saw a phone number scribbled onto it, complete with a little heart doodled to the side.

A second piece of paper caught Henry’s attention; another receipt, this one dated over a month and a half ago, with a different phone number scratched onto it.

Feeling suddenly weak and lightheaded, Henry shoved the papers back into the drawer and slammed it shut. He leaned his head against the side of Spencer’s bed as he processed everything. What was he supposed to do with this information? Part of him wished he had never came into Spencer’s room, but the other part of him was furious he was only just now finding out about this. Remembering the threats Spencer made about having ‘alternative methods’ if Henry misbehaved, he realized with a wave of dread that this is what Spencer may have been referring to. _’But I did everything he told me to do,’_ Henry thought sadly, _’I was perfect. I was exactly who he wanted me to be, and he still…’_ Fighting back tears, Henry swallowed the lump in his throat. _’Nothing I did mattered in the end.’_

Henry’s heart ached from how much he longed for Gordon to hold him and dispel the empty, lonely feeling that filled him. However, he knew he couldn’t just go down there and run to Gordon.

Remembering that Spencer was waiting for him, Henry jumped up and bolted out the door, hurrying back downstairs. He didn’t know how he was going to face Spencer, but he didn’t care. His mind was swarming with feelings of betrayal and hopelessness.

As soon as he entered the kitchen, he kept his eyes glued to the floor. He didn’t trust himself to look at Spencer without lashing out in anger and hurt. He returned to his earlier spot

“You certainly took your time,” Spencer leaned in and said quietly in Henry’s ear.

Henry winced as Spencer’s breath ghosted against his ear. “I started to feel a little sick on the way,” Henry said without looking up.

“...Did you bring the bottle opener?”

“Oh, I, uh…” Henry stuttered, his face flushing in embarrassment, “I must have set it down somewhere and forgotten it. I’m so sorry, I’ll go back and-”

Henry was interrupted by a _pop_ followed by Scot exclaiming “Got it!” before triumphantly handing the now opened bottle back to Spencer.

“Nevermind,” Spencer said with a smile, “looks like we won’t need it after all.”

Too preoccupied with thoughts of what he found upstairs, Henry looked around and laughed awkwardly. Just when he thought he could keep how he was feeling under control, his eyes met Gordon’s. The Alpha cocked his head and raised his eyebrows in a sort of ‘everything okay?’ gesture. Seeing the concerned look on Gordon’s face made something inside Henry snap. He needed to get out of there. “I’m not feeling well,” he said in a voice just quiet enough for Spencer to hear, before making a quick exit, trying not to draw attention to himself.

-

Cold air stung Henry’s skin, and his body shivered violently. His arm brushed against a nearby bush, shaking a few lumps of snow free to land on his arm. Annoyed, Henry brushed the snow away, grumbling to himself.

“You wouldn’t have that problem if you were inside, like most people have the sense to be when it snows.”

Startled, Henry looked up and saw Gordon standing in front of him. “What are you doing here? Didn’t everyone else notice you leave?” he asked, looking up at Gordon with watery eyes that stung from the cold.

“I told them I needed to make a phone call.”

“How did you know I was in the garden?”

“Judging by the direction you ran off in, I figured you’d be out here.” Gordon helped Henry up onto his feet, pulling him in close to get him warm. “It’s been a long time since we’ve been out here.”

Henry shrugged. “It’s winter.”

“Ah yes, that would certainly explain the snow.”

Henry laughed pitifully.

“I could feel you getting upset, back there.” Gordon said sadly, changing the subject. “It must have something to do with the pregnancy. Whenever you get too scared or unhappy it makes me feel like I’m turning to ice from the inside out. I hate it.”

Henry said nothing.

“Speaking of turning to ice, what in the world are you doing out here in the cold, anyway?”

Henry remained silent. He didn’t really feel like talking about Spencer, not yet anyway, but he knew he should tell Gordon the truth. “Spencer is cheating on me,” Henry sighed, deciding to get straight to the point. “When I went to his room to get the bottle opener, I found two pieces of paper with phone numbers written on them in his bedside table. One of them was recent, too.”

Gordon pressed his lips in a tight line in thought. “Maybe it’s not what it looks like?”

“There was a heart next to one of them.”

“Oh.”

“I found a pair of panties, too.”

Gordon wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Oh, _god_.”

“I just can’t believe I had no idea about this. How did he manage to hide it so well? I mean, I’ve been around him for hours every day for the past two weeks, when did he have the time to slip away?” Henry crossed his arms with an angry huff. “What a rotten thing to do, talking to me about getting married and then messing around with someone behind my back-”

“Why do you care?”

Henry blinked. He turned to look at Gordon in disbelief. “What?” he said in a hushed voice.

“Why do you even care about this?”

For a moment, Henry stood motionless, staring at Gordon. “How can you stand there and ask me why I care?” Henry cried, “Of all the insensitive, inconsiderate- ”

Gordon held his hands up defensively. “I don’t see the problem here. If anything, this is good. Now you have a legitimate reason to break off the engagement and put more distance between you and Spencer. I don’t understand why you’re so upset over this. It’s not like you were going to have a serious relationship with him anyway.”

Henry crossed his arms defiantly and turned away.

Gordon’s jaw clenched. “Right, Henry?”

“Oh of course I wasn’t-”

“You keep saying that,” Gordon said harshly, “and yet you two have gotten awfully cozy with each other. If I didn’t know any better I’d say you had genuine feelings for him.”

Henry kept his eyes locked onto the ground.

“Oh… my god. You _do_.” Gordon’s jaw dropped, and he gave a harsh laugh. “You actually fell for the guy

“I did not!” Henry said defensively. “Just because I was content with how things were going doesn’t mean I was in love. For once, I wasn’t completely miserable with him.”

Gordon snorted, folding his arms. “Well, you should have been.”

Henry’s eyes widened in shock. “I should have- You don’t want me to be happy?!” Henry shouted, frustrated tears rolling down his cheeks, “I finally get to a point where just Spencer’s presence doesn’t give me panic attacks and you get so jealous you’d rather me be miserable!”

Gordon stuffed his hands in his pockets, shifting his weight uncomfortably. “I don’t want you to be miserable.”

“Oh, really?” Henry scoffed, “You don’t enjoy when I come running into your arms because of something Spencer did?”

“I don’t-” Gordon rubbed the back of his neck nervously, “Well, that’s just a benefit…”

Henry shook his head. “Unbelievable,” he mumbled as he stormed off towards the house.

Gordon frantically followed after him. “It’s not like what you have with him is real anyways,” he shouted.

Fuming, Henry stopped and whipped around to face Gordon. “I know it’s not real,” he snapped, “but it still hurts. It hurts to be tricked into thinking someone’s going to take care of you, only for them to turn out to be a monster. It hurts wondering what you’re doing wrong to be treated like this. It hurts to be taught again and again through systematic abuse and manipulation that he’ll never respect you or love you, but still having this tiny glimmer of hope that maybe he’ll finally realize that you deserve to be treated better. It hurts so much…” Henry trailed off, clutching his head as he tried to calm the swarm of emotions running through his mind.

“You really thought-?” Gordon laughed harshly. “If you honestly thought he cared for you, then you’re an idiot.”

Henry froze, Gordon’s words slowly sinking in.

Instantly, Gordon realized his mistake. “I didn’t mean-”

“Yes you did,” Henry snorted as he turned away.

“Henry-”

“I know I’m an idiot,” Henry said, his expression hardened. “I dedicated myself to trying to make something work that was doomed from the start, and now I don’t know what to do. I’m an idiot for wasting my time and energy on someone who doesn’t deserve it.”

“You’re not an idiot. Spencer’s an idiot for- well, a lot of things, but he’s an idiot if he couldn’t be happy having someone like you.”

Henry looked at Gordon coldly. “I wasn’t talking about Spencer.”

Gordon’s heart sank. “What…?”

“I really thought you cared about me, but you clearly only want me for yourself out of spite. You’d rather Spencer treat me like dirt if it meant I’d run to you. I’ll bet this is just your petty way of getting back at Spencer, that that’s the only reason you’re doing all of this.”

“Of course not-” Gordon reached out to touch Henry’s arm, but Henry jerked away.

“You had me convinced that I was better off with you, because you couldn’t stand the thought of me being happy with someone else. You’re just like Spencer.”

Gordon’s chest ached, Henry’s final words piercing through him. As he watched Henry walk away, panic rose in his throat. “Wait,” he shouted. Gordon wanted to follow him, but his legs wouldn’t move no matter how much he willed them to.

“No,” Henry snapped as he kept walking.

“Please,” Gordon said, his voice quivering as he swallowed the lump in his throat. “Please, just hold on a second and let me explain.”

“Why should I?”

Gordon swallowed nervously. “Because I love you.”

Henry stopped. He turned back to look at Gordon, who was looking at him longingly. 

“I knew I loved you days after I met you. You were kind, funny, and your smile made sunshine look dull. I knew Spencer would break that smile, and I had this overwhelming urge to protect you, to keep Spencer from ruining such a kind soul. The more we talked and got to know each other, the more I grew to admire you, and soon I realized that I loved you more than I’d ever loved anyone in my life. I know you don’t believe that, and I hate that you think I don’t care, because I do. I care about you more than I thought I could care for another person.

“We’ve messed up. A lot. Between conceiving pups and not having the nerve to leave this place sooner, we’ve made a lot of screw-ups. But there’s nobody I’d rather go through all of this with than you, Henry. I’m okay with having to deal with a thousand more screw-ups as long as we’re in it together.

“Maybe I was wrong to always assume the worst of Spencer, but if I had kept my suspicions to myself and he ended up hurting you… I’d never forgive myself. I’m sorry I was manipulative about it, I really didn’t mean to be. And for the last time, you’re not an idiot. You’re compassionate, and witty, and generous, beautiful, sweet, protective, caring… I could keep going, but… you’re not an idiot, not in the slightest.”

Gordon couldn’t see Henry’s expression in the dimly lit garden, but he was grateful that Henry had at least stopped to listen to him. The silence that filled the air, however, concerned him. “Should I… should I keep going, or-?”

Gordon was cut off by Henry walking over and pulling him into a passionate, tearful kiss. Gordon melted into the kiss, wrapping his arms around Henry protectively, bringing them closer. The two stayed like that for what felt like hours before separating for air.

Henry looked up at Gordon, his eyes shimmering with tears, and smiled sheepishly. “So… are you ready to leave tonight?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blessed are the fanfiction writers who have no knowledge of medical terminology and write about it anyway... most of this chapter was rewritten no less than 15 times and yet it's still very clear that I have no idea what I'm talking about. Oof.
> 
> Also, I know the legal drinking age is different depending on what country you're in, and I realized this literally just now as I'm uploading the chapter. Thomas turned 21, so just pretend that's the legal drinking age in Sodor.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings for this chapter: Physical abuse, mentions of rape/incest.

“I’m glad you decided to take up my offer,” Scot said as he rummaged through the safe in his office. “I know that money is in here somewhere…”

Gordon sat waiting on the couch by the fireplace, watching Scot as he dug through the safe frantically. “Why are you doing this?” he asked sincerely. “Not that I don’t appreciate everything, but if Spencer finds out you were involved in this…” Gordon trailed off. “You’re risking so much for Henry and I.”

Turning back to look at Gordon, Scot smiled. “Maybe I am, but it’ll be worth it. I want to do this for you two.”

“Why?”

Scot was still looking at Gordon, but he had a glassy, faraway look in his eyes. “Because you two are just like mom and dad,” he whispered sadly. “There’s so much potential, and I want to see you have what our parents had. You both deserve it.”

Gordon frowned. “Is that… supposed to be a good thing? Comparing either of us to dad is just about the worst thing you could say.”

Scot was speechless. “I… beg your pardon?”

“You heard me. I may not have known him long, but the few interactions I had with him coupled with every story I’ve been told paint a pretty clear picture.”

There was a long pause as Scot processed what Gordon said. He stood up and walked over to lean against his desk. “And what stories did you hear about him, exactly?”

“Everything he did to mom,” Gordon sneered, “how he treated her like property and paraded her around as a trophy, then kept her pregnant and miserable because that’s all he believed she was good for. He was a terrible father and an even worse Alpha, and the fact that you see similarities between our parents and me and Henry is concerning.”

Scot stared at Gordon in disbelief. “I don’t know where you heard all of that,” he said sadly, “but that’s blatantly untrue.”

Gordon scoffed. “Maybe you just don’t want to believe it.”

With a deep sigh, Scot sat on the couch beside Gordon. “Tell me,” he said, “who was the one who said all those things to you? Because I think I already know exactly who it was.”

As sudden realization hit him, Gordon’s heart sank. “Spencer told me,” he said under his breath. “He told me when we were kids… he said he was doing it to make me feel better about losing them…”

“I knew it,” Scot sneered. “He always was a little shit. I didn’t like you hanging around him. There was something about him that just made me suspicious, a vibe, I guess.”

 _’If only you knew…’_ Gordon thought. “Why would he tell me all those horrible things about mom and dad?”

“He only parroted everything his parents were saying, and of course they spread whatever lies they could to try and give our family a bad rep. They hated mom, and they hated dad for choosing her over the Omega his parents originally picked for him. There was also some arguments over money and the family business, but not even I know the extent of that…” Scot turned to Gordon and gave him a sympathetic look, “You have no clue the drama that went on in our family, and that’s how mom wanted it. She never told any of us to know what was happening. Yes, our parents had their issues, especially as they grew older and dad started getting more stressed with work, but nothing was ever as bad as what you’ve been led to believe.”

Gordon never realized there was so much he didn’t know. His body tensed in anger. All of the years he spent resenting his father, fueled by the lies he was fed as a kid. And by Spencer, to top it off.

Scot’s expression softened. “I’m sorry you didn’t know all of this until now. I knew you were kept  
in the dark, but I didn’t know just how in the dark you were. You deserve to know the truth.”

Gordon didn’t say anything, still processing everything and unsure of how to respond.

Scot motioned for Gordon to scoot closer and sit beside him, which Gordon obliged. He put an arm around Gordon, pulling him close. “You only knew mom and dad for eight years, which is completely unfair, since you missed the years they were the happiest. When I was young, I would watch them, and I’d see how absolutely head over heels they were for each other, and it gave me so much hope for my future, that I’d find someone who made me feel the way they did. Dad didn’t force mom to get pregnant. She wanted a big family so they created one, even though dad wasn’t the best with children. But he still made sure every one of his kids felt loved. Mom adored all her pups, but she had her favorites.” Scot poked Gordon’s chest teasingly, “You were one of them.”

Gordon smiled warmly as Scot went on.

“I remember when you were about a year old, mom wouldn’t stop gushing over how dark your hair was already, and how thick it was growing in. She loved the idea of you growing up to look like dad, she’d always say she already had enough children that looked like herself. She’d flip if she saw you now. You’re the spitting image of dad.”

For the first time in years, Gordon wasn’t disgusted by those words.

Scot continued, “You’ve always looked like dad. I never understood why you’d get so crabby whenever someone told you, but now I guess it makes sense.” He laughed, “You looked even more like him when you were pissed off. God, you were cute. What happened to you?”

Rolling his eyes, Gordon elbowed Scot playfully. “Whatever, I’m mom’s favorite.”

“I knew I shouldn’t have told you that,” Scot laughed, before turning serious again. “But my point is that I can tell you and Henry have something really special, and I don’t want you to lose him. I love you too much to let you suffer like that. Now, go find Henry and pack as much as you can. I’ll have furniture and other things delivered to your house later, you two just focus on getting out of here tonight.”

Gordon looked down and swallowed the lump in his throat. “I will. Thank you,” he said quietly.

“Don’t mention it,” Scot mussed Gordon’s hair playfully. “All I want for you is to be happy.”

“I’m just sorry I have to leave like this,” Gordon huffed.

Scot waved a hand dismissively, “Nonsense, I completely understand. You two staying here is getting a little risky. I know Spencer’s never hurt you before, but I’m sure he wouldn’t hesitate to if he felt it was necessary. And if anything were to happen to you, especially something I could have helped prevent, I’d never forgive myself.”

Gordon’s heart raced. The guilt from keeping such a big secret from his brother for so long tugged at his heartstrings. He owed it to Scot to tell him the truth, after everything he had done for he and Henry. Mustering his strength, Gordon took a deep breath and sat up to look his brother in the eye.

“Scot?”

“Yes?”

“There’s something I need to tell you about Spencer.”

-

When Henry reached his room, slamming the door behind him and eager to start packing, he was surprised to see Spencer sitting in an armchair by the fireplace. His expression was grim, and Henry felt anger stir inside of him seeing Spencer. Henry’s eyes narrowed. “I know what you’ve done,” he said, his voice low.

Spencer’s lips pressed into a tight, angry line. “Oh, do you?”

“Yeah, I do,” Henry said, growing agitated at Spencer’s cocky tone.

“And just what have I done?”

“At least two other people,” Henry said, crossing his arms across his chest.

Spencer cocked a brow.

Henry continued, “I found the phone numbers in your nightstand. And some underwear I hope to god weren’t yours.”

Spencer was silent. He let out a tense sigh and leaned back. “Look, can’t this wait until tomorrow?”

“And give you time to come up with a lie to get yourself out of this? I don’t think so.”

Spencer rolled his eyes. “Henry-”

“I’ve watched you lie, you’re disturbingly good at it,” Henry fumed. “You can try and think of some story to cover your ass, but I’m not going to believe another word that comes out of your mouth anymore. In fact, this all ends tonight.”

Spencer looked away, a bored expression on his face. “What are you talking about?” he said, shaking his head dismissively.

“You and me. We’re over.”

That seemed to catch Spencer’s attention. His eyes darted over to Henry, a mixture of confusion and anger etched into his face. “You can’t. You don’t have a choice!”

Henry shook his head, a sharp laugh escaping his throat. “I do have a choice, you just don’t want me to because you know I will never choose you, not after the way you’ve treated me.”

“I _own_ you!”

“And that’s supposed to make me want to stay?”

Spencer’s eyes narrowed. “So you’re just going to turn on your own Alpha? After everything I’ve done for you?”

“Everything you’ve-? Don’t get me started on everything you’ve done-”

Spencer cut him off. “I’ve been nothing but the perfect Alpha for months now, and suddenly you’re going to throw all of that out the window?” Spencer said threateningly. “I don’t know what you saw, but you have no proof that I cheated on you. I can’t believe you’d be so paranoid, Henry.”

Henry felt himself want to cave in and avoid the impending conflict, but he resisted. “No,” he said firmly, “I’m not being paranoid. I know what I saw, and I’m not going to just ignore this and pretend it’s nothing. You’ve gotten away with doing a lot of terrible things, and it stops now.”

Spencer stared at Henry, his expression icy.

Taking a deep breath to gather courage, Henry’s eyes locked onto Spencer’s. “It’s over, Spencer.”

The silence that followed seemed to stretch on for an eternity. Then, a sudden smile spread across Spencer’s face, which filled Henry with more fear than any harsh word Spencer could have said. He watched nervously as the unusually calm Alpha walked slowly over to the window, chuckling threateningly, “I must say, I’m surprised it’s taken you this long to say all of this. I mean, if you’ve felt this way for a while. So why stay with me and be miserable?” Spencer said, his voice eerily nonchalant. “Especially when you’ve got someone else.”

It took Henry a moment to process what Spencer had said. When Spencer turned to face him, it was obvious in his serious expression that he knew more than Henry had anticipated. Panic rose in Henry’s throat as he realized what was happening. “Wh… what are you-?”

Spencer’s calm demeanor was suddenly replaced by violent rage. “Don’t play dumb, you lying _slut_ ,” he hissed. “How can you stand here and go on about me cheating when you’ve been fucking somebody else for months?!” Spencer seethed, jabbing his finger into Henry’s chest as he spoke. 

Henry froze. He couldn’t even make his legs move, forced to watch in horror as Spencer stormed towards him, his face twisted in anger. Seeing Spencer this angry brought back painful memories, and he could feel his body start to shake as Spencer got closer.

“This morning I went to the doctor for my yearly physical, you know, to check things out and make sure everything’s working like it’s supposed to. Well, I got some interesting news while I was there. After the doctor ran extensive tests and diagnostics, I was told that I’m sterile. Completely, incurably sterile. What a fool I made of myself when I insisted I couldn’t be, because my Omega was pregnant.”

Henry’s heart lurched into his throat. _’Oh no…’_

“The doctor looked me in the eye and told me I couldn’t be the father. The fertility tests weren’t wrong, he said. Boy, did I sure have some questions. But everything I asked only led to the same answers. So now the only question I have left to ask is who the _fuck_ were you screwing behind my back?”

Henry’s heart rate skyrocketed. His mind scrambled to find something, anything that could be used to convince Spencer his suspicions weren’t true. “Spencer,” Henry’s voice quivered, “you’re the only one I’ve- you were my first.” _‘Not a lie,’_ Henry thought.

“Well then, who was the second?”

“There isn’t a second, I swear-”

“Bullshit!” Spencer slammed his fist against the nearby wall, causing Henry to flinch. “That’s bullshit and you _fucking know it_!”

“Who else could it possibly be?” Henry cried, praying that he was convincing enough. He was so close to getting away from Spencer, so close to finally having a better life with Gordon, he couldn’t let anything get in the way.

Spencer’s eyes bore into Henry’s. With an angry huff, Spencer turned and walked out of the room.

Henry followed. He didn’t know what Spencer was planning, but it couldn’t be anything good. “Spencer, _please,_ ” he shouted, desperately trying to get Spencer’s attention. “Spencer!” He reached out, and no sooner had his fingertips made contact with Spencer’s shirt, Henry found himself shoved roughly away. He gasped as Spencer grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him roughly against the wall.

“A licensed professional said to my face that the chances of me being the father of those pups is _zero,_ ” Spencer hissed. “I don’t know what kind of idiot you take me for, but I’m not going to be fooled by you any longer. I’m going to find out who the father is, and I’m going to make him regret even looking at you.”

Henry was too frightened to speak. He stared at Spencer, his eyes wide.

Spencer glared at Henry, still seething with rage. “I’ll bet it was your little friend, wasn’t it? That pathetic Beta you pal around with. Who knows what you two have been up to? A Beta and an Omega becoming such close friends seems a little suspicious if you ask me.”

“Edward?” Henry said in disbelief, “I haven’t seen him in months, and he’s like an older brother to me, I’d never-”

“What a concept,” Spencer laughed. “Some father he’d be. It’s bad enough that he’s a Beta, but to be a tranny on top of that-”

Henry’s blood boiled. “Hey!” he shouted angrily, but Spencer cut him off before he could say anything else.

“It was someone around here, right? Was it Arry? Bert?”

“Spencer-”

“Donald or Douglas? Oh, I’ll bet you fucked them both, you _whore_.”

“Spencer!”

“Regardless of who it was that got you knocked up,” Spencer spat, “I’m not letting any bastard kids ruin this bloodline. Those pups are going to disappear without a trace, immediately. I don’t care how it happens. Wait until after they’re born, make it look like an accident, or don’t, I don’t give a damn. I want them gone.”

Henry’s blood ran cold. “No,” he pleaded, “you can’t- I _won’t_ -”

Slamming Henry against the wall again, Spencer gave an angry shout. Spencer paused, breathing heavily as he brushed hair away from his sweat-covered forehead. “You’re getting rid of those pups, even if I have to do it myself!”

Henry could only watch helplessly as Spencer drew his fist back, unsure of where the Alpha was planning to hit him, though he had a pretty good guess. Crossing his arms over his stomach protectively, Henry flinched and shut his eyes, bracing himself for the hit…

But it never came.

Looking up, Henry was filled with both relief and dread when he saw Gordon holding Spencer’s fist in a white-knuckle grip. The two Alpha’s stared each other down, jaws clenched in rage.  
With a growl, Spencer yanked his fist out of Gordon’s grip. “Look,” he said lowly, “I know you think you’re some kind of savior, always butting into things that are none of your fucking business, but this discussion is between me and Henry, so if you could _kindly_ leave,” Spencer hissed through his teeth, “that would be wonderful.”

“If you really wanted this to stay between you and Henry, then maybe you shouldn’t have these, _discussions_ , out in the hallway where anyone can see and hear you,” Gordon said, his voice low and threatening.

Taking a deep breath, Spencer put on a calm smile. “Unfortunately, I don’t have time to debate this with you. I’d be more than happy to talk to you about this later, _in private._ ”

The frightened look that flashed briefly in Gordon’s eyes made Henry feel sick. “No,” Gordon said calmly, “let’s talk now, I’ll be busy later. I’m sure Henry is free to continue this business with you at a later time.”

With a pang of dread, Henry realized that Gordon was willing to put himself in danger being alone with Spencer if it meant Henry and the pups would be safe. A wave of love and admiration washed over Henry, but it was quickly replaced by panic. “Gordon, you don’t have to-”

“Oh for fuck’s sake, I don’t have time for this,” Spencer seethed, shoving Gordon away. “How many times is it going to take until you learn that what I do to my Omega is none of your business!” Turning back to Henry, Spencer moved towards him, his expression malicious. However, before Spencer could even lift a finger, Gordon flung himself in front of Henry, protecting the frightened Omega with his body.

Spencer rolled his eyes. “Move, Gordon, or I’ll move you myself. And trust me, you don’t want that to happen.”

“Try me,” Gordon snarled. “I don’t care what you do to me, but if you do anything to Henry and these pups, I’ll rip you to shreds.”

“Oh spare me the heroics,” Spencer said with a sneer. “Why would you care about these pups, they’re not even in the family-” Spencer stopped, realization dawning on his face. His eyes darted between Gordon, who shielded Henry behind him, and Henry, who was clutching onto Gordon, shaking like a leaf and burying his face in the Alpha’s shoulder. Spencer stood up to his full height, glaring at Gordon. “So,” Spencer chuckled, his lips pressed in a tight, angry line, “you actually did it. I had my suspicions, but I never thought you’d actually dare.”

“What are you going on about?” Gordon snapped.

Spencer’s lips twitched into an unsettling smile. “You really went and stole my Omega right out from under me.”

Henry’s breath hitched.

Gordon said nothing, his eyes locked onto Spencer’s as Spencer stared them down.

“I must say, you both certainly did a good job hiding this,” he motioned towards Henry’s swollen belly, “Sneaking around must have been difficult. Surely you had some accomplices. It seems no one in this fucking house can be trusted.”

Henry’s heart stopped when Spencer’s eyes locked onto him. His hand twitched, and Henry flinched away instinctively.

“Don’t,” Gordon growled.

Spencer laughed, “Stop wasting your breath. Nothing either of you do is going to stop me. You can fight, you can run, you can hide, you can try everything, but I want those pups dead, I want my Omega to learn his place, and I want you,” Spencer’ eyes bore into Gordon’s, “to get it through your thick skull to mind your own fucking business. Have you not yet learned your lesson about crossing me, and the consequences that come from making that mistake?”

A shiver ran up Gordon’s spine as Spencer leaned in to whisper threateningly in his ear.

_“Do I need to teach you again?”_

“Spencer Gresley, step away from them right now!”

Henry jumped when he heard Scot’s voice thunder through the hallway as he walked towards them. His expression was angrier than Henry had ever seen, and it frightened him more than seeing Spencer that angry.

Scot continued towards them, his eyes locked onto Spencer. “The police won’t take too kindly to you causing any more trouble before they can get here, so I suggest you keep your distance.”

“The police?” Spencer laughed, “I haven’t done anything that warrants getting the police involved.”

Scot stepped forward, closing in on Spencer. “You know damn well what you did,” he said, his voice a low growl. “You’ve known for years, Gordon’s known for years, and I was oblivious this whole time. The only reason I’m calling the police and not handling it myself is because I’m not in the mood to go to jail for murder.”

Spencer’s eyes met Scot’s in a challenging glare. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”  
“Fine,” Scot hissed, “stick by that story. We have enough information to give to the police to land you behind bars for the rest of your life.”

Footsteps came up the stairs, and everyone turned and saw a very frightened Mavis. “Um, the, uh, t-the police are here…?” she stammered nervously, pointing downstairs to the front door.

Scot nodded. “We’ll go talk to them,” he said, dragging Spencer away roughly by the arm.

“What are you-” Spencer sputtered, “Let go of me! What do you think you’re-? You have no right…” Spencer’s voice continued to echo through the hall as he was taken downstairs. An eerie silence filled the air as the front door shut, leaving Henry and Gordon alone, still standing in the same position, Henry cowering behind Gordon and clutching onto him for dear life.

Realizing they were safe, Gordon turned around to face Henry, still on alert in case something unexpected were to happen but still noticeably calmer.

Still in a state of shock at what just happened, Henry leaned back against the wall with a tired huff. 

Gordon cleared his throat awkwardly. “Pretty satisfying seeing the panic in Spencer’s eyes when Scot mentioned the police,” he said, trying to lighten the mood.

“Yeah…” Henry agreed, his brows furrowed inquisitively. “Scot seemed to be hinting at… what happened between you and Spencer.”

Gordon chuckled, “Perhaps because he knows.”

Henry stared at Gordon in shock. “You told Scot about-?”

“Everything.”

“But I thought-”

“It seemed time,” Gordon sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Besides, I knew if I told Scot about everything, Spencer would get sent away, and he couldn’t hurt you anymore.”

“He can’t hurt you anymore, either.”

Gordon smiled, “That’s just a bonus.”

Henry gasped with realization. "Wait a minute, what about the job you were trying to get out of? Now that Spencer's gone, won't Scot make you take it?"

"Most likely," Gordon said hesitantly, "but I don't care about that anymore. I can live with being stuck in a job I hate, but I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you. You're far more important to me."

Henry gave Gordon a sad, but appreciative smile. He was still struggling to wrap his mind around everything that was happening, but knowing how much Gordon sacrificed for him made Henry's heart ache. “So, he’s gone?”

“Well, I’ll still have to give a statement to the police and possible testify in court, but yes. He’s gone.”

Henry’s face split into a grin as tears fell down his cheeks. “It’s over,” he cried happily as he ran to Gordon and pulled him into his arms, “it’s finally over…”

Gordon returned the embrace, his cheeks wet with silent tears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, we’ve reached the end of ‘It Could Be You’ at long last. There were a lot of scenes I had to cut due to not being able to fit them into the plot without creating another sub-plot I didn’t feel like writing, and some of them were painful for me to cut, so I may post them just to feel like they didn’t go to waste. If I do, I'll probably just add them as chapters to this fic, so be on the lookout ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
> 
> Also, not to be a Debbie Downer, but in reality Spencer would be found not guilty. There’s no evidence or witnesses to support Gordon’s accusations, besides the one time Henry was hiding in the closet when Spencer… you know. But even with that, he’d probably just get a slap on the wrist because he’s a white upper-class man, so. Yeah. Anything Spencer did to Gordon that nobody else saw, including when they were children, would be dismissed, since any case that has (what’s usually referred to as) “he said she said” as the only proof it happened will end in a not guilty. Word of mouth isn’t enough. I know from experience. But let’s just pretend that everything goes well and Spencer goes to prison and everyone lives happily ever after the end. I want a happy ending, dammit.


	16. Epilogue

_\- 17 Years Later -_

-

“Bailey!” Henry shouted upstairs, “Come clean up the mess you made in the living room!”

A door at the end of the hall upstairs cracked open. “Wasn’t me,” Bailey called out over the loud music pouring from her room out into the hallway. “It was probably Blossom, she always leaves her crap everywhere.”

Henry huffed. “Well, whoever it was, someone left their homework all over the coffee table, and I’ve told you all enough times I’m not going to keep cleaning up after-”

“That’s mine, Papa,” came another voice, and Henry heard more than saw someone run behind him into the living room.

“Told you,” Bailey said smugly before shutting her bedroom door.

Henry pressed his lips together as he walked over to the living room and stood in the doorway. “What have your father and I said about leaving messes like this?”

“I know, I know. Felix called and sounded super freaked out, something about the chemistry test and-”

“Blossom,” Henry said sternly, “Felix can wait, the rules of this house cannot. You can’t keep leaving messes like this for someone else, usually me, to pick up for you. If this keeps happening, you’ll have to do your work at the library.”

“But that’s at least a ten minute drive!” Blossom protested. “I swear I was gonna come back and clean this up, don’t make me study in the library. There’s a creepy guy from my Spanish class who volunteers there, and it’s always super cold, plus the books are never in the right place-”

Henry sighed. “Just try not to leave a room looking like it’s a disaster zone when you work, okay?”

Blossom nodded. “Yes sir,” she said, giving Henry a salute.

“At ease,” Henry said, leaning against the door frame. “So, I’ve located half of my children, but the other half are nowhere to be found. Any idea where your brothers are?”

“William had debate team practice today, and Nigel’s hanging out with _Olivia_.” Blossom grinned and batted her eyelashes mockingly. “He’ll probably be at her house again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next…”

Henry smiled. “He really likes her, doesn’t he?”

“Don’t start planning the wedding,” Blossom scoffed, stuffing a large textbook into her backpack and zipping it shut. “I heard she already likes someone else. She’s only hanging out with Nigel to make some other Alpha jealous. No one has the heart to tell him.”

“Someone else?” Henry scowled, “Has she seen my son? You don’t get better genes than that.”

With a grunt, Blossom hefted her backpack onto her shoulders. “You’re just saying that because he looks like Dad.”

“Like I said: Good. Genes.”

Blossom wrinkled her nose. “Ew.”

Henry laughed, pulling Blossom in and giving her a kiss on the cheek as she walked past. Just as he turned to leave, the front door opened beside him. Henry’s face lit up when he saw Gordon, looking exhausted, come inside, shutting the door behind him with his foot. “You’re back early,” he said, wrapping his arms around Gordon in a tight hug. “How’s Scot doing?”

“For someone who should have been completely paralyzed at best by his accident, he’s remarkably well. His bones are healing and he’s recovering from the surgeries like he should. He’s still on bed rest, but he said the doctor thinks he’ll be sent home this weekend. I’m sure Thomas is anxious to have him back.”

“That’s amazing,” Henry gasped. “I didn’t think he was going to be leaving the hospital so soon. I mean, he must have been going at least a hundred miles per hour when the car flipped. Must be that tough Gresley blood he’s got.”

“Truly the eighth wonder of the world,” Gordon said sarcastically. He smiled, leaning in and giving Henry a kiss. “How’s my wonderful husband?”

Henry giggled. “Better, now that his beautiful husband is home.” He leaned in to kiss Gordon again, but was interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs beside them.

“Again, ew,” Blossom said as she rushed past them. “Hey Dad.”

“Hi sweetheart,” Gordon said with a smile.

Henry listened as the sound of footsteps faded away, rolling his eyes when he realized they were headed for the kitchen. “We’re having dinner soon,” he called out over his shoulder, “I wouldn’t eat anything if I were you.”

A groan followed by the refrigerator door closing could be heard, and Gordon chuckled as Blossom went back upstairs, shoulders slumped in defeat.

“Anyways,” Henry smirked, and leaned in to close the distance between their lips. However, the sound of the front door opening made them break apart again. Henry reached out and held it shut. “Who goes there?”

“It is I, William, third born to the Gresley-Stainer family.”

“Bringeth thineself indoors, child,” Henry said dramatically. “Giveth thine fathers affection at onceth.”

“You went a little too hard with the ‘eth’s, papa,” William laughed, closing the door and worming his way between Henry and Gordon to give them each a hug. He turned to Gordon. “How’s Uncle Scot?”

Gordon smiled down at him. “He’s doing fine.”

“Good.” William turned back to Henry, “Nigel might be a bit late getting home, he’s-”

“At Olivia’s,” Henry nodded, “I know. Blossom told me.”

A sly grin spread across William’s face. “Did she tell you we’ve got a betting pool on whether or not Nigel will figure out she doesn’t like him before he asks her to prom? I bet twenty that he’s going to remain completely clueless until reality hits him like a sledgehammer when she turns him down.”

“Now that’s just mean,” Gordon scolded, trying to keep a straight face and not laugh.

William shrugged, turning to go upstairs. “He’s not very bright.”

Henry massaged his temples with his fingertips, letting out an exasperated sigh. “They get that from you, you know.”

Gordon cocked a brow. “Being mean, or not very bright?”

“Both.” Once again, Henry pulled Gordon towards him, and was promptly interrupted by the door swinging open. Henry buried his head in Gordon’s chest and groaned frustratedly. “I just want to kiss my Alpha… Is that too much to ask…”

Gordon chuckled, “And Nigel makes four.”

“Hey Dad, hey Papa,” Nigel said hastily as he walked past.

“You’d better not be going into the kitchen,” Henry said, without turning around.

“Just a snack,” Nigel’s voice echoed from around the corner.

“Absolutely not,” Henry said, ignoring the groan of protest he received from Nigel in response. “Dinner is in an hour, you can wait. Honestly, why do my children act like I never feed them?”

With a grumble, Nigel left the kitchen and trudged up the stairs. “I’m reporting you to Child Protective Services for starving your children.”

“How’s Olivia?” Henry asked, trying to hide the smirk that crept onto his lips.

Nigel’s face flushed dark red almost instantly, and he ran faster up the stairs. “She’s fine,” he said, his voice cracking from embarrassment. He shut the door behind him and Gordon looked down at Henry.

“I can smell her all over him.”

“Oh?”

“Smells like sex and Bath and Body Works.”

“Oh, _god…_ ”

Gordon chuckled. “Are you going to talk to him about it?”

“Right,” Henry scoffed, rolling his eyes, “because that will go over so well. ‘Sit down son, I’m here to tell you to stop having sex even though you’re almost seventeen, full of Alpha hormones, and could have anyone you wanted.’ That’ll really teach him.” Henry frowned. As much as he loved watching his children grow up, he wasn’t too fond of some of the challenges that came with it.

Seeing how unhappy Henry was, Gordon leaned in and gave him a gentle kiss. “You’ll miss this someday.”

“I know,” Henry sighed, taking Gordon by the hand and leading him over to the couch in the living room. “I think I’d rather go back to when they all got strep throat at the same time in third grade than deal with their teenage problems.”

“And soon you’d rather deal with their teenage problems than deal with paying for their college tuition.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me. I still have to fill out a bunch of forms. Four sets of them.”

“Bailey isn’t going to college, remember?” Gordon said, gently running his hand up Henry’s arm lovingly. “She’s already got a steady job doing music and wants to keep doing that full time.”

Henry gasped in realization, “That’s right, she did say that didn’t she? I’m a horrible father, I completely forgot…”

“No you’re not,” Gordon said sternly, though the corner of his mouth quirked into a smile. “I don’t think you’ll have to worry about William, either. He’s got enough academic scholarships he could probably pay his own way with the money he got from his job last summer.”

“No idea where he got those smarts from,” Henry said, smiling proudly. “Definitely not me.”

Putting an arm around Henry, Gordon pulled him close and kissed him gently on the cheek. “We made a pretty good batch, didn’t we?”

Henry gave a content ‘mm-hm’ in response.

Looking down, Gordon watched happily as Henry snuggled into his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around the Alpha’s waist. “I wish we could have had a better start, but the end result isn’t too bad.”

Henry nodded. “Definitely worth it.”

Gordon didn’t need to ask. He knew exactly what Henry was referring to. “Absolutely,” he said, pressing a kiss to the top of Henry’s head.

“You know,” Henry said, sitting up to face Gordon, “we have enough money saved up that you don’t really have to work any more. We could live comfortably with just my income from working at the tree farm. I know you must be miserable with the job you have, and I hate that you’ve been stuck with it for so long. You’ve made enough sacrifices for me, you deserve to be happy.”

“I am happy,” Gordon smiled. “I already told you, you and the kids are more important to me. Besides, I’ve gotten kind of used to working with Scot. It would be weird barely seeing him at all.”

Henry smiled, but rolled his eyes. “Well we can fix that. He only lives a half an hour away, it’s not like visiting him is that much of a hassle.”

“True,” Gordon nodded.

With a satisfied sigh, Henry returned to snuggling against Gordon’s chest. They sat in comfortable silence- apart from the muffled music coming from behind Bailey’s door upstairs- for what felt like a pleasant eternity.

Henry couldn’t help but reminisce about the nearly two decades that had passed since he and Gordon had finally rid themselves of Spencer for good. The years following had been infinitely more carefree and joyful; Henry was thankful they had the opportunity to peacefully raise their pups and slowly build their home (not literally, of course. Scot had found them a rather lovely and spacious house in a secluded wooded valley and insisted he buy it for them).

Henry noticed that Gordon and Scot had grown closer, too, and it warmed his heart to see it. He knew how hesitant Gordon was of Scot knowing the truth about Spencer, for a variety of reasons, and he was nearly as relieved as Gordon that things hadn’t gotten weird or different between the Gresley brothers. Scot seemed to go out of his way to spend time with Gordon outside of work. No doubt from guilt, having been completely oblivious to his brother’s suffering for years, Henry speculated, but it was still a welcome gesture. The kids adored their Uncle Scot, and Henry couldn’t imagine not having him around as much as they do.

Looking up at Gordon, Henry saw his eyes were trained to somewhere on the wall. He admired the way the sun coming in the window curtains lit up Gordon’s deep brown eyes, and he couldn’t help but stare at them. The feeling of Gordon’s hand tracing lazily along his arm, a feeling Henry was well acquainted with, made Henry instantly relax, and he leaned in closer, still gazing up at Gordon’s eyes.

Gordon absentmindedly ran his fingers across Henry’s arm as he thought. He glanced up at the framed photos hanging on the wall; some from his and Henry’s wedding, an array of the kids’ baby photos, a photo of Scot and Thomas the day they adopted their first of many dogs. Smiling to himself, he thought back on the past seventeen years and felt a bittersweet mix of pride and nostalgia, grateful that he got to grow and love Henry and their children, but still sad to see the years pass so quickly. Henry’s voice brought him out of his thoughts.

“What are you pondering about up there?”

Gordon smirked. “Just thinking about that gray hair you found this morning.”

Henry gave Gordon a gentle but teasing shove. “Stop that! It’s not funny!”

“It’s hilarious,” Gordon laughed. “I haven’t seen you freak out like that since Bailey fell off her bike and chipped her front tooth

Henry crossed his arms with an annoyed huff. “Yeah, well, Mr. Going-Gray-Since-Puberty, some of us equate gray hairs with getting _old_. It’s not exactly an easy thing to come to terms with.”

Gordon shrugged. “Just dye your hair like I did, then. No one will know.”

“And cave in to society’s fear of aging? No thank you.”

Gordon threw his hands up in an ‘I give up’ gesture.

Grumbling under his breath, Henry stood up and stretched. “I guess I should get started on dinner,” he said, heading for the kitchen. “Wouldn’t want Nigel to call Child Protective Services.”

“Hey,” Gordon called out just as Henry was leaving.

Turning back, Henry raised a brow curiously.

“You’re still the most beautiful person in the world,” Gordon said with a smirk. “The silver fox look is going to really suit you.”

A bashful smile spread across Henry’s lips. “Flattery will get you _everywhere_ , dear.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For three days I tried incorporating the fic title into this epilogue, and for three days I was unsuccessful.
> 
> Okay, _now_ we've reached the end of 'It Could be You' lol. Catch you guys on the flip. *Sips mimosa and moonwalks away*


End file.
